The Dry-Aged Beef José Andrés Uses For 'The Best Burger In The World'

Spanish American chef José Andrés, the author and humanitarian, knows his stuff when it comes to food. While Andrés' signature exuberant and animated style can be prone to hyperbole, we can trust that when the world-renowned restaurateur identifies how to make the "best burger in the world, period." He means it.

Andrés admits he's biased. While he didn't make the burger himself, his favorite version of it comes from one of his restaurants, Leña in New York's Mercado Little Spain. The Mercado is a collection of Spanish restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and kiosks all in one bustling hall, replicating the historic neighborhood food and grocery stalls of Spanish mercados. Inspired by the steakhouses from Basque Country and Asturias, a northwest region in Spain, Leña is one of the three main restaurants inside the mercado and focuses specifically on what you can produce from the grill. As a result, it's no surprise that Andrés' favorite burger is charred in-house at Leña. If Spaniards had invented the burger, Andrés explains, this would be it. 

The sandwich is made with 8 ounces of perfect-for-grilling prime ribeye beef, which has been dry-aged for 60 days, seared on the grill (or over the embers), and then smashed into a convenient, one-inch thick, patty. To ensure quality, the chefs at Leña source their dry-aged ribeye steak, which is famed for its tender and juicy texture and almost buttery flavor, from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors. Their dry-aged beef comes from Black Angus cattle, a go-to source for high-quality meat that's well-marbled and super tender. 

At Leña, Andrés' favorite burger is called the "Txuleburger," sensibly named after "Txuleton," the Basque word for ribeye. Once the seasoned ribeye patty is seared in their charcoal-fired oven, it's topped with better-for-burgers American cheese, pickled piparra (green peppers that hail from Basque Country) for some acidity, and a not-so-secret sauce that includes, olive oil, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, chipotles, and hot sauce. All of the above is then tucked between a soft brioche bun that's been toasted in butter. The result is an easy-to-eat, extremely flavorful burger that focuses on quality ingredients over adding the kitchen sink or overly fancy burger upgrades.

Make it yourself at home with the best dry-aged ribeye you can buy, or head to New York to try the famed burger in person. Or, since we'd never gate keep the best burger in the world from your kitchen, the Txuleburger is also available in a six-serving-kit form from Goldbelly. See for yourself if Andrés seriously knows his burger stuff.