Time to break out your best Boston accent and repeat after me "BurgaBox". You got to really pronounce that "Burga". What in the world I am talking about. This awesome meal kit service for the "Burga" lover. I had the fabulous opportunity to review one of their kits (blogger perks!). I want to break down this kit and share with you my thoughts on it and whether you should rush out and order one now (spoiler alert, the answer is yes!)
A quick little background BurgaBox is the meal kit service created by the Boston Burger Company. They have restaurant locations in Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville, Massachusetts. Their burgers have been enjoyed by some of Food Network's most famous personalities including Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri, and Micahel Symon. BurgaBox is the same great burgers that you will get at the restaurant.
The Box I Choose to Try
The box I chose to try was the Vermonster box. This burger is a tribute to the state of Vermont, one of the few states I actually not visited yet. I am passionate about regional foods or even creating a meal around a region.
How Long Did It Take to Get to My House
I got an confirmation email that the box had shipped on May 2nd to my house in Michigan. On May 4th I got an email saying that it was out for delivery and then a confirmation email later that day when it was delivered. The box came packed with several ice packs. I got out my trusty infrared thermometer that I was inspired to get by Alton Brown to check the temperature of the contents inside. Everything read well within the temperature for food safety, so 40 degrees and under. Unfortunately I had strep throat the day it arrived, so I had to patiently wait to dive into the food.
What's in the Vermonster Feast Kit
Here is what you will find in your Vermonster box.
- 2 ea. 8oz The Vermonster: sautΓ©ed apples & red onion, bacon, maple mayo, sharp cheddar
- 2lb Pulled pork mac & cheese
- 1lb Chili wedge fries
- 8oz side of Boston baked beans
- 8oz side of homemade cole slaw
*Box size Feeds 2: Includes all of the above plus a side of baked beans and coleslaw.
You have the option to pick your mac & cheese and fries. The ones listed are the default choices. I choose to just try the Regular mac & cheese along with the garlic Parmesan wedge fries. The containers the beans, cole slaw, mayo, and apples & onions were nice small containers with screw top lids that you could re-use.
What Do You Cook?
The BurgaBox kits are a mix of prepared food and food that you cook yourself. Here is what you need to prepare yourself:
- the Burger (ground beef is already formed into a patty)
- Wedge Fries (fries come already wedged)
- the Bacon for the burger
The mac & cheese just need to be heated in the oven. The Baked beans need to be re-heated and the cole slaw is ready to eat. The sautΓ©ed apples and onions that go on top of the burger is already prepared as well. Your main focus is preparing the fires and cooking the burger to your desired perfection.
Preparing The Burger
Let's go through each thing in the box and tell you about preparing it and how it tasted.
I first have to say these are some serious burgers. I usually make 4 oz burgers myself. These things are twice that size. Since I was just overcoming a sickness and had not yet built back up an appetite I only made it half way through the burger and had to save the rest for lunch the next day. But hey I am all for stretching a meal out over multiple days.
A seasoning rub comes with the burger that you just need to apply yourself.
While I was cooking the burger, I warmed up the apple/onion mix in a small saucepan. Just heated it enough to warm it all the way through and keep it on low until I was ready to put the burger together.
I brought out my favorite cast iron skillet to cook the burgers on. The bacon I cooked first in the skillet. I wiped down the excess fat from the bacon with a pair of tongs and some paper towel and then placed the patties into the skillet. In our house we like our burgers cooked to medium. Nailed a perfect cooked burger this time around. Using a thermometer helps test the guess work out but once you have cooked enough burgers you can feel them and now they are done to your liking.
A maple mayo comes to go with the burger. I am not a huge mayo fan, mainly because I don't like the taste of eggs the primary ingredient in mayo. If eggs are going to be in something I want that flavor hidden. With that being said I put a thin layer of the maple mayo on the bun. The mayo itself helps keep the bun from getting soggy. It adds a barrier of fat.
Review of the Burger
I gotta say I am standard ketchup and mustard guy when it comes to a burger. Hard to imagine eating one without them. I did not miss either of them in this case. This was an oh my gosh amazing burger. The meat itself was high quality. It was perfectly juicy cooked to medium. The interaction between the sweet maple mayo, sauteed apples and onions, and the bacon was pure joy. So nicely balanced. Smoky and sweet! The burger just really screamed fall to me right smack dap in the middle of spring.
I liked that the cheddar cheese was on the bottom. It gave the burger a nice finish. The bun itself was soft and substantial enough to handle all the ingredients in between the buns. The maple mayo adds some sweetness and everything else was so flavorful I didn't taste eggs - so I was happy.
Preparing the Wedge Fries
Since I was baking the mac & cheese at a different temperature than the fries needed, I decided to just pan fry them. Yes that might have been the unhealthier way but I used regular olive oil (no need to waste extra virgin on this), so there! I worked in batches so not to overcrowd the pan. Four minutes per side was enough to cook them through and to make them crispy. Then melted the garlic Parmesan butter to coat the fries.
Review of the Wedge Fries
I tried the fries before even putting on the garlic parmesan butter and they already were pretty good. Adding the butter really upped the flavor ante. My wife absolutely adored them. I like this kind of cut because you get the crispiness on the outside with the soft potatoes on the inside. Very well done!
Preparing the Mac & Cheese
Instructions came with the mac on how long to cook it depending on whether it was frozen or not. Yes the mac & cheese comes frozen. It comes in a foil container that you just have to remove the lid and heat up in the oven. This helps keep it fresher as well as add more cool vibes to the box. Mac & cheese freezes really well so I don't think that affects the flavors. Mine fully thawed out in the fridge because I didn't eat it that night. I pulled it from the oven once the edges started to brown - that's the best part.
Review of the Mac & Cheese
Certainly wasn't not lacking in the cheese department. This mac was super cheesy. No shyness with the cheese here. Personally it was too heavy to go along with the burger. I tasted it along with the meal but saved the rest of it for dinner the next night. And that is no knock on it at all. In fact I liked kind of separating out the box over multiple meals.
Preparing the Baked Beans
This was easy. Pop them into a microwavable bowl and heat'em up.
Review of the Baked Beans
Being these were baked beans coming from Boston I had pretty high expectations. I was not disappointed. These beans had a lot of flavor and were not overly sweet like you get when you pop up most canned baked beans. Nicely done.
Review of the Cole Slaw
The cole slaw you simply just serve and eat. I thought the flavor of the cole slaw was spot on. My wife and I would have preferred a little less dressing. I like my cole slaw very lightly dressed. Like I said the flavors were there.
Inspired for the Future
What I love about these meal delivery boxes is that they inspire me. This fall I totally want to take this idea and make them some sliders with the best in season Michigan apples and serve it on my pumpkin yeast rolls for an extra taste of fall. I don't think I would have been as inspired if I didn't cook the burger myself. I think many of us when we go to a restaurant don't think of re-creating the food at home. Maybe we think it's too hard. However when you get one of these boxes and cook the restaurant quality meal in your own kitchen, I think it's more inspiring.
Click the link below if you are interested in ordering a kit yourself or want to explore what else BurgaBox offers.
Peggy
What is the cost of the 2 burga pak & can you order a larger one? How many kinds are there?
Thanks, Peggy
Eric Samuelson
The kits are $65 to feed 2 and $75 to feed 4. These are the same burgers they sell in their restaurant - the Boston Burger Company.
Here is a link to all of their kit choices - https://www.burgabox.com/collections/our-products?rfsn=608154.52bff8&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=influencers&utm_campaign=608154.52bff8