As a catering butcher in Manchester, based in Radcliffe, we’ve seen first-hand how tough the last six months have been for the hospitality industry. Rising minimum wages, increased National Insurance contributions, and food inflation have created real pressure — not just for restaurants and pubs, but for suppliers too.
Despite these challenges, the burger scene continues to evolve. Even as the cost-of-living crisis reduces customer spend, people still want to eat out — they just want more value for money. And burgers for pubs and restaurants are a great way to deliver that value while still being creative.
The beauty of the burger lies in its flexibility. Whether you’re a high-end gastropub or a casual dining spot, there’s room to innovate:
Choose your meat cuts
Opt for seasoned or unseasoned
Adjust grind size and texture
Add rich flavours like bone marrow or aged fat
In our opinion, the foundation of any great burger is high-quality meat and the right fat ratio. We always start with an 80:20 lean-to-fat ratio. Go too lean, and your burger’s dry. Go too fatty, and it shrinks too much and flares up on the grill.
As an experienced catering butcher in Manchester, we recommend chuck as your base cut. It’s got the right balance of fat, great flavour, and it’s affordable. We often mix in brisket to deepen the flavour or use rare cuts like rib cap when available — a fantastic choice if you want to stand out on your menu.
Adding bone marrow is also a popular move for richness, while aged fat adds a more developed, beefy character that chefs love.
Once you’ve got the meat right, texture is everything. A burger should have an open, loose texture so the fat renders evenly during cooking. This is something we pay a lot of attention to in our bespoke burger blends — experimenting with different grind plates and methods until we hit the perfect balance for each customer.
Many chefs prefer to form their own patties from our mix, which gives them more control over size and consistency. While this takes more time, it creates a better burger — and that’s what keeps diners coming back.
We do offer our own seasoning and rusk blends for customers who want a convenient, ready-to-press option. However, for premium burgers in pubs and restaurants, we usually advise going without. Keep it simple, and let the meat shine — season during cooking for best results.
Rusk can help with binding and juiciness, but for a high-end burger experience, less is more.
Most of our hospitality clients stick to 4oz or 6oz patties. I once heard a chef say a burger should be no thicker than three fingers, and I couldn’t agree more. Large burgers (like 8oz+) can be difficult to eat and take too long to cook — not ideal during a busy service.
A great workaround is two 4oz patties or even two 3oz, which allows for faster cooking and better stackability.
One of the most successful pub operators I know said back in the ’90s that the bun was just as important as the patty. That rings even truer today, with a huge range of bun types now available to match your burger concept — from buttery brioche to crusty sourdough.
If you’re a chef or operator looking to develop your own bespoke burger blend, or just want advice on how to make the most of your burger offer, we’re here to help.
👉 Contact us — your trusted catering butcher in Manchester for burgers for pubs and restaurants.
