Grasp the burger firmly, with thumb and pinky on the bottom, and three fingers on top. Use pinky and ring fingers to compress the side away from your gaping maw preventing toppings from spilling out. If burger is too large to correctly hold in this manner, place on plate and press firmly with palm until burger size is adjusted. Allow toppings and sauces to spill during this process, do not be timid.
Once the correct hold is achieved, move the forefinger and thumb away from your gaping maw, exposing some of the remaining burger for consumption. Apply moderate pressure with the forefinger and thumb to prevent burger toppings from sliding further into the burger during the next step. Continue to apply pinky and ring finger pressure to prevent topping spillage from the back of the burger.
Place exposed portion of burger between front incisors. Close lips around the burger, then apply sufficient biting force to cut, not rip or tear, but cut through entire burger, bun, toppings and all. While pulling remaining burger and unharmed fingers away from face, close lips and commence chewing. If you are unable to close lips fully, consider adjusting your bite size in subsequent iterations of this process.
Your previous bite has likely created a prominent portion of burger that is more exposed than others. Move your thumb and ring again to further expose this spot, and consume this portion. You may rotate the burger a few degrees each bite, but you should be consuming the burger from one side to the other, not in a rotary manner. Your pinky and ring finger should be constantly guarding nearly the same edge throughout the entire process, until too little remains for them to come into play.
You will find that many prefer to use their dominant hand for this process. This is acceptable, particularly while learning, however experienced burgermeisters use their non dominant hand, which leaves their dominant hand free to consume beverages and the traditional french fries inbetween bites. They keep the burger in hand until it is consumed in order to prevent any loss of toppings during the repositioning process that would be required if they placed the burger back on their plate. This is generally acceptable, as meals containing a burger as the main dish usually consist entirely of food meant to be eaten by hand, however a fork may also be handled with the dominant hand without having to place the burger back on the plate. At no point should a knife be necessary. If you gesticulate while eating, be sure your grip on your burger is sufficient to prevent flinging some or all of it on adjacent patrons.
Particularly large burgers may require two hands, and those with small hands may find two hands more comfortable than the typical singlehanded grip. In this case one hand replaces the function of the pinky and ring fingers, and the other replaces the function of the forefinger and thumb.
It is the rare exception to see someone in the US consume a burger with utensils, but it is not frowned on or offensive. Indeed, many parents cut up burgers into small pieces for very young children who are unable to grasp the burger as normal. It may then be consumed carefully with fingers or using a fork. One may use any method of consuming the burger that feels comfortable to them when using utensils, but they should be aware that it is the combination of ingredients in the proportion as prepared that provides the full flavor of the burger.
Removing a bun, for instance, may also remove some of the sauces present, and certainly increases the meat to bread ratio of successive bites. Some may prefer this, but they should be aware that they are altering the texture and flavor of the food. You may see burgers served in the US with one bun off to the side - this is a convenience so the consumer may alter, apply, or customize toppings before putting the bun back on and consuming the burger as normal. Some advertising also shows burgers with the bun removed in order to showcase the toppings, but again the burger is rarely consumed in this manner.
There is no wrong way to consume an amican style hamburger, but we do hope that these tips improve your future burger eating experiences.
Dig in!
