Bob’s Black Garlic Burger Recipe: I Recreated This Iconic TV Burger

I think every single foodie watched Bob’s Burger’s “Best Burger” Season 5 Episode and immediately put a black garlic burger on their food bucket list. Heck, the next day I ran to the grocery store to hunt down black garlic to make one for myself.

I’ve been spending years making specialty burgers and have finally nailed down the BEST Bob’s Black Garlic burger recipe (as they don’t really share the specifics in the tv show). If you also want to know what it tastes like, keep reading for the step-by-step directions.

The show is one of our go-to “easy” tv shows. You know, one you throw on the background or watch late at night, or when you’re sick in best. I’ve been recreating burgers from the show for years. I think the black garlic burger is one of the best Bob’s Burgers recipes (and that says a lot, he make so many!)

Kara did buy me the Bobs Burgers Recipe Book a while back, and some of those recipes are really well crafted, but some are just meh. It’s great for getting ideas of fresh ways to make a burger, but many of the recipes I tinkered with a few times to nail down. 

My Bob’s Burger’s Black Garlic Burger recipe features my homemade black garlic burger sauce! It’s sweet, creamy and a bit like a relish, making it a dang good black garlic sauce for burgers (and tv show fans.)

Remind Me What Happens In The Bob’s Burgers Black Garlic Burger Episode?

Bob and Linda enter a local burger-making competition, with one of his rivals being Jimmy Pesto. During the middle of the competition, Bob realizes he forgot his black garlic which is kinda important as he’s trying to make a black burger recipe. 

Gene messes up the black garlic Bob has at the restaurant, so they end up scrambling trying to locate some fresh black garlic for Bob. They finally find some, rush to the competition and get it to him just in time. Bob ends up not winning, but many crowd members flock to his restaurant after to get a taste of the burger. 

I’ve seen a lot of black garlic burgers out there on the internet and it’s absolutely out for interpretation, as they don’t really go into how it’s made on the show. My bet it all on black garlic burger recipe was thoroughly tested for maximum flavor, and I don’t want to too my own horn, but I think if I were competing this burger and black garlic sauce would have taken home gold. 

What Is Black Garlic?

Black garlic isn’t rotten garlic, it’s fermented! It’s white garlic bulbs that have been aged by heat at around 140˚ to 190˚ F for long periods of time. It turns the bulbs black, soft and sweet. The first time I tried it I honestly wasn’t sure if I like it, but now I’m obsessed with black garlic bulbs and will even pop a few in my mouth raw as little snacks. 

I’ve been trying to figure out how to make black garlic with rice cookers for a while now and can’t nail it, so we’ll be buying our black garlic for now. 

Where Can I Buy Black Garlic?

It’s really hard to track black garlic down sometimes! The whole scene of the kids in the show running around town finding black garlic is so very accurate. Just last month I called around to 4 different stores in San Francisco looking for black garlic. Here’s where you usually can find it

• You local co-op
• Whole Foods
• H-Mart
• Farmer’s Markets
• Online at Amazon

How To Make Bob’s Burgers Black Garlic Burger Recipe (Step By Step Directions)

First, you’ll want to make my homemade black garlic burger sauce (recipe here). I was getting questions from folks on what to use if they can’t eat mayo, so you can subsite the mayo for Greek yogurt or a store-bought vegan mayo.

Really, the only hard part of making the sauce is using a food processor to blend up the black garlic cloves as they can get sticky. I usually make a batch of the sauce and store it for about 2 weeks (and yes, we’ll have burgers for dinner.

Making The Perfect Black Garlic Burger Patty

Now, time to make the patties! I love using ground beef for beef patties. To make another reference to a tv show we love, Ron Swanson was absolutely correct about beef making the best burger patty. Of course, you can make a burger patty out of any meat or meat substitute you want or need here (ground turkey, a plant-based burger patty, etc).

Chop onions and garlic and add them to a bowl with the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt, and black pepper. Using your hands, mash the beef (or your choice of meat) in the bowl to mix. Set aside and head your pan or grill. 

We have a smokeless grill we use sometimes for burgers, or if I’m feeling lazy I’ll use a pan on the stove. If I’m using the pan method, I’ll add a little bit of oil to the pan to help the meat not stick. While the pan is heating up, it’s time to make your patties!

I am to make a patty that is about the size of my bun, usually, it’s about 1/3 pound patty. I find it’s best to flatten and form the patty before you put it in the pan, since this helps retain all the flavors and juices inside the meat so it doesn’t get too dry. Once formed, I cook on the grill or pan until it was reached my desired temperature. 

Everyone likes their meat differently, so cook until rare, medium rare, medium well or well done. Remove from pan and get ready to make your burger! 

Constructing The Burger

We’re team brioche buns for pretty much any burger. They’re a culinary masterpiece – little sweet, fluffy and buttery. You can use standard hamburger buns of course, but since black garlic is sweet, the brioche bun helps elevate that black garlic flavor.

I like to toast the buns on a pan with a little bit of butter to get an extra layer of flavor. Once toasted, spread the black garlic burger sauce on both slices. Place your burger patty on the buns and top of slices of cheddar cheese. 

As a Wisconsin guy, I have a soft spot for a sharp Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese. It goes with everything! Kara loves goat cheese though, and sometimes will ask for a little bit of goat cheese on this burger, too. She likes how the tangy and creamy elements of the goat cheese pair with the sweetness of the black garlic. When making Bobs Burgers black garlic burger recipes, feel free to play with your cheese of choice! 

If you loved this Bobs Black Garlic Burger recipe, please share this post on Pinterest! I’ve seen some black garlic recipes just rely on a siply black garlic mayo but I think it’s best when you jazz the sauce and burger up with a little more than that. Bob certainly would.

I’ll be sharing more of Bobs Burgers recipes on the blog and I’ll link them here when they live!

PS – got a lot of black garlic? Try making my Miso Black Garlic sauce next, it’s great on tofu and fish!