I'd love to know what people recommend. Mine is all over the place, juice and mustard running down my arm. I'm a mess when I'm finished.

GOOD topic! Often end up with disproportionate amount of bun or burger the closer I get to the end.

I just had a burger for dinner and that sucker was slipping and sliding around in the bun. I manhandled it into submission.

Apparently these Japanese scientists have figured out it's your grip on the burger that's most important. They suggest holding the burger with the thumbs and baby fingers on the bottom and the other fingers on the top for a controlling grip that doesn't spew the burger and fillings out.

http://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/perfect-way-eat-burger-with-no-mess-sticky-fingers-according-science-0150867/

I stopped putting the saucy/slippery things on my hamburger... especially since I switched to mostly veggie burgers several years ago. Instead, I place the ketchup, mustard, etc. on the plate and dip the hamburger as needed while I'm eating it. This technique works whether you're eating it with your hands or a fork. :)

Toast the bun, lightly, without grease. It helps the condiments stick instead of sliding. It should also have an open texture so they sink in rather than forming an oil slick. Dry the lettuce and flatten it. Let the other vegetables drain before putting them on--even blot them. Getting a good sear also helps, because it dries out the surface of the burger itself. Juicy is good. Dripping all over the place is messy. :)

I turn mine upside down. No idea why it works better, but for me it does.

So funny!

I do too, Colleen, though I think it's just because it's easier to keep it together using fingers to lift and turn than just a couple of thumbs to lift straight. :)

I've always thought it was the shape of the bun. When I eat a burger the right way up, for some reason each bite seems to take a bigger chunk out of the bottom bun half. Because the top half is domed with more surface area, if I eat the burger turned upside down the bun thing seems to even out...

Big rolls - Kaiser size - and you dig out the soft middle on the top and bottom. Once the burger is assembled, the guts fill those areas and nothing slides or leaks out.

So so funny!

I agree with the bottom teeth taking a bigger chunk, so I'm always turning mine.

I don't really like the bread that much. To me it's just a vehicle to hold the juicy meat, cheese tomato, pickle, condiments and lettuce. I just cut my burger in quarters. I eat only the best part, and leave the rest.

I do make my meat juicy! Always add water to the pound, then put a pat of butter in each patty.

Interesting about the bun shape. You remind me that I don't care for those high domed buns and sometimes pull off the crust+ from the top. I'm not good at baking sandwich buns, but I can buy some decent ones that are fairly even top to bottom. I hate it when it's all top and not enough bottom to hold together! My favorite, however, are One Buns. They're the muffin tops of the bun world. FLAT. Like both sides together are flatter than half an English muffin. They're necessarily denser, but still have sufficient tooth. It's just enough to hold your burger, without being all bready. Even hollowed out, I don't think I could face Fawnridge's big rolls!

If you live in a big city and have multiple bun choices, congratulations! But if you live in the country and have very little choices, and mostly your homemade stuff fails, you just go with the bun brand that is available.

A good friend of my Dad's owned a fabulous burger and pie joint in the '50s-'70s in Long Beach, CA.

He showed us the upside down method and I've used it ever since, passing it on to our kids.

In addition to what others have said, the top bun being thicker, I think it also has to do with the way you reach under with your fingers to lift it off the plate, which helps stabilize it.

I love a good, juicy burger, rare, with ketchup, mustard, grilled onions and maybe some mayo. The liquids go on the bottom bun with onions on top. Then I slice the whole mess in half so I have a small section to deal with. If I leave it whole, I go with the Japanese recommendation. It works well when you have a firm grip on the matter.

True Suzi! What the city lacks in home grown produce, it gains in variety of buns!

As I was eating my (slidey because I didn't have time to toast it) chicken on One Bun sandwich for lunch, I thought of something else -- most burger joints plop the condiments in the center for a reason. They spread outward as you grip, cut, lift, etc., so it helps prevent drips, plus if the outer quarter inch of bun is nekkid, it won't slide so much.

If you can make Campbell Soup museum high art,

You can make hamburger eating an art form.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejr9KBQzQPM

dcarch

Many burger places have the skewer in a burger. One place I go puts a huge steak knife in it to hold together the double burger which I usually get, although maybe they do it on the singles too if they're piled with toppings. And no, I don't eat it with the knife in it. The big ones (and those with the knife) I usually end up cutting it in half. You get a better grip on half of it. I move the skewer (when so equipped) to the side a bit and use it to hold together a messy burger or cut it in half. Personally I use toast at home more than a bun for burgers. I like a hearty multi-grain toasted bread for a sandwich. And part of the problem is people aren't eating burgers. With all the junk put on them, it's become more aptly named a burger salad on a bun.

I too turn it upside down and if I'm using BBQ sauce or a burger/fry sauce I dip it rather than drench it. Sometimes if it's big and messy I give up and use a knife and fork.

Dang. Now I'm hungry for a burger.

Upside down works great for me too.

And here I thought I was the only weirdo who ate my burger upside down :-)

I discovered this method for myself when I was fairly young. Younger brother used to hold his burger with his hands close to his mouth and then cry when all the insides fell out the back :-)

I cut mine in half like a sandwich. The cut side makes the bun be grippier, and eating the burger in halves makes it easier to hold. I never have slipping and sliding with this method. My mother taught me this when I was a little girl, and I am 50-something and it has been working all this time.

P.S. I have never been able to tolerate raw onion with a burger, so only have to contend with lettuce, tomato, cheese, pickle and ketchup.