(Just Burger was taken over in March 2019 by new Peruvian owners. This feature only reflects the good burger-ship Just Burger did until February 2019.)
No one creates more burgers in one year than Just Burger. They have weekly, monthly, seasonal and sometimes even daily burger specials, that they craftily concoct in their open kitchen in Sliema. Owner Liselott Moazed says that she wanted to bring a Swedish twist to an American classic here in Malta, by focusing on simplicity in the way they prepare and serve food. And that’s what she and her international team of burger mongers have been doing since June 2014. They keep churning out innovative burgers at an absurd rate that not even Shoreditch and NYB can keep up with!
After settling at The Plaza in Sliema in July 2015, they kept working harder at their now-unstoppable trend, to create a memorable burger every month. All their monthly special burgers have two things in common: they taste good, and they are only available for 30 days! Unfortunately all good things come to an end: Just Burger was taken over in March 2019 by new Peruvian owners, new staff and a meager line-up of monthly burgers.
Here are the five Just Burgers we loved the most from the past years, when they were at the best of their game…
Prawn Star
Just Burger, known for their unique and delicious burger specialities, wanted to feed our cravings last October with a Prawn burger. Whilst everyone is topping burgers with sliced pickles, the Just Burger team have turned the classic condiment formula inside out, and put such an extravagant ingredient as the prawn at the very top as if they wanted to keep the summer vibes going! This burger blends together land and sea through a combination of a 140gr Angus beef patty and breaded prawns. All is set on top of a bed of rucola leaves and pickled onions. The patty is topped with traditional cheddar cheese that bolsters the overall richness, and the whole burger is dripped in their own version of the thousand island dressing.
Just Burger have truly created a “Prawn star” of a burger, that tastes as good as ever and is a tremendous surf and turf experience. It does pile high, as it has a premium topping that barely fits into your mouth in one go. Yes, this one is big, juicy and loaded with flavours, and you’ll need to unlock your jaws and unstoppably dive in! This burger is one of those agreeable friends, a sort of reliable buddy whose purpose is to make you happy and make you feel full! We truly hope that they will re-propose this ultimate surf and turf burger in 2019.
Wellington Burger
The classic Beef Wellington is generally a seared fillet steak coated with Duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry and finished in the oven. And that’s what the culinary team at Just Burger tried to do in September 2017: engineer a beef Wellington in a bun! At the very base, there is a bed of Duxelles made from finely chopped mushrooms and onions, garlic, truffle paste and seasoned with herbs. Fresh baby spinach leaves go on top. Next up is a layer of puff pastry. It’s flaky, light and has a buttery flavour infused with herbs. The golden puff pastry was freshly baked and tastes really crunchy. The pastry is dosed with a portion of chicken gravy, made in-house. The gravy is thick and pasty and brings a salty element in play. The central element of every Just Burger is the beef patty, their signature 140g Angus Beef patty, minced and grilled on the day, in the Just Burger kitchen. There are two slices of Serrano ham on top. Most classic versions of the Beef Wellington do not feature any kind of ham, but many modern recipes do. This is dry-cured Spanish ham which is similar to Italian Prosciutto but is less fatty and has a more concentrated taste. The burger is topped with another layer of puff pastry and gravy.
We foresaw that this would be an open burger, because of the many layers; however, all the ingredients are stacked together in a well thought out way, and the whole burger holds well together, making it easy to bite through all this goodness in a bun. The entire concoction of ingredients is one of the richest and most flavourful burgers we’ve eaten. Making a Beef Wellington from scratch is a hard task, and turning such a classic into a burger is nothing less than an insane amount of work! This burger takes everything that’s instinctively pleasurable about eating an Angus burger and racks it up to further heights.
Asian Burger
Maltese are big-time lovers of Asian cuisine, and most if not all Maltese love burgers in one form or another. But what happens when you mash and combine the two? The Asian Burger appeared on the menu in August 2017.
This burger tastes Asian from the very base, which is made from bok choy and a red & white cabbage slaw on top. The cabbage mix is marinated in Asian spices. We could taste honey, ginger and soy sauce, and the slaw not only tastes delicious but creates a very colourful layer in the burger. It adds great texture, crunch and an unmistakable flavour to the burger as a whole. There’s the patty made from 140g of Angus Beef, which is hand-formed and has a thick crust marked with crunchy spots of char. Every burger does well with some bacon, as this one is no exception! The Asian Burger is topped with a mix of bacon crumble and chopped spring onions. We love crunchy bacon, and Just Burger have managed to get a delicious crisp in their bacon bits. The bun is spread with lime and chilli mayo. And this is what drives the whole burger over the top! The combination of sweet chilli sauce with mayo and lime creates the best added Asian condiment anyone could wish for. All of these Asian flavours come together so well that propel the burger into overdrive mode, bringing you one unforgettable bite. There was enough spread on the top to permeate every bite and unite all the burger’s components. After you taste this, you will never want to go back to standard bacon burgers again!
Imqarrun Burger
If someone had to turn Malta’s most homely Sunday dish into a glorious burger, it would be Just Burger. We know that others offered something similar, but this one from Just Burger in April of this year was the first one that truly delivered. Imqarrun (baked macaroni casserole) is one of Malta’s most loved traditional dishes. This burger has most of the elements of grandma’s classic; the macaroni, bolognese sauce, meat and bacon. The macaroni is usually topped with a layer of grated cheese that when melted helps to bind everything in one block, and that is here too. Between the burger buns, there’s a layer of crunchy rucola, a chutney made from cherry tomato pulp & pancetta, a 140gr beef patty, provolone cheese, and a mac & cheese croquette.
The chutney used here is a strong talking point in this burger. It’s perfectly reduced and packs a punch with its chunky pieces of tomatoes and rustic flavours. Pancetta makes a wiser substitute for bacon, as it does not have the deep smokey flavour and does not overpower the other ingredients. On the other hand, Provolone, like other pulled-curd cheeses, has a more intense flavour when melted and is often used in casseroles especially in dishes from the North of Italy. The patty is very present as it brings in an instant hit of beef. You can always tell that this is quality beef as it has that delightful and intense flavour. It blends perfectly with the cheese, which sits on top melty and looking cheesy! The mac & cheese is presented in croquette form and is executed with a certain level of French finesse. This is where this burger becomes inimitable. It had to be the culinary team at Just Burger to come up with an exceptional solution for putting macaroni inside a burger without a cheesy mess and unnecessary spills, by encapsulating the baked pasta within a croquette which is exquisitely deep fried to a sterling level of golden crunchiness. This was one true Patriot Burger which we adored and would like to see back on the menu.
Spicy Summer Strife
7 June 2018 was a hot day. In Sliema, things were a 100° hotter as the Spiciest Burger eating challenge of the Year was taking place. All spicy burgers we’ve seen so far, pale in comparison to what Just Burger have craftily created for this challenge! Apart from the beef patty, which is a supersized 200gr version of the renown Just Burger patty, the burger is an unstable spice bomb. The beef is topped with slices of Mexican Edam Cheese, infused with red hot peppers. Two large habanero poppers stuffed with chilli cream cheese go on top. The bun was spread on both sides with a load of Tabasco, habanero mayo sauce and a jam made from jalapenos, onions, peppers, chilli, vinegar and Harissa (a hot chilli pepper paste). You think that’s more than enough spice in one meal? Wrong! Even the fries got the hot treatment as they were sprinkled with garlic powder, cajun spices and Tabasco. The fumes emanating from the freshly fried fries caused burning and watering to our eyes!
This was a one-of-a-kind specialty burger that was built exclusively for this challenge. It was made to be ultra spicy so that the common man in the street would run away upon face to face confrontation! Yet it was possible to consume it without dying on the spot! If you missed the challenge you missed your chance to prove your worth as a burger eater!
BONUS: Fries
Sliema is concentrated to the brim with restaurants of all sorts, all serving fries. You’re totally spoilt for choice. But these bagged chips from Just Burger encapsulate the purest form and truest feel of the classic French Fry. They have a high percentage of potato content in them as Just Burger imports these exclusively from some Swedish supplier only they know of. Apart from good raw material, the kitchen guys always get the fries crisped to a level we seldom get to experience. They’re crunchy enough to withstand a vortex and come out unharmed! We’ve tested them regularly every few weeks and unlike other express food brands, the end result is always very consistent. They are generously seasoned and aren’t greasy, so they compliment a burger nicely. We suggest you get the large portion and an extra sauce dip from a selection of tasty and exotic flavours. These sauces really increase the taste properties of the fries by a tenfold. You won’t ever want to touch any other Chips!
