Internet Culture

Businessweek gets grilled over controversial hamburger tweet

‘The relationship between a man and his grill is sacred.’

Photo of Dominic-Madori Davis

Dominic-Madori Davis

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Businessweek wasn’t ready for the heat!

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Days before the country is supposed to celebrate the barbecue holiday on July 4th, Businessweek decided to release its third annual “Do Not Grill” article. One of the items on the list? The hamburger —arguably a staple of the summertime.

“Top chefs say you shouldn’t grill these foods. Yes, the list includes burgers,” the caption of Businessweek’s tweet read.

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“Perfect burgers are all about the crust but equally the umami-rich fat and natural juices,” Chef Tae Strain said in the article. “On the grill, you lose that because the fat drips down onto the coals, and you need those juices.”

Another chef named Gray Brooks agreed.

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“Do not grill burgers,” Brooks said. “Way too much of the delicious beef fat winds up in the fire. When burgers are seared on a flat top, or in a cast-iron pan, that fat renders out and becomes a cooking medium and helps form a really nice beefy crust. If you really want to cook burgers on the grill—which I totally understand, grilling is one of the coolest things to do in life — put a cast-iron griddle on the grill. You can also grill the onions, which are a great way to still get the smoky grill flavor on the burger.”

But Twitter was not having it. And it does what it usually does: had a complete meltdown.

“Do not even come at me with this right now, I’m not playing. The relationship between a man and his grill is sacred,” said user @chrisberez

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“No sir, not gonna do it, burgers on the grill are fantastic as long as you never flatten or touch them in any way,” said @mattleising. “Peaches and pineapple are also fantastic on a grill, the smoky burn you get can’t be done any other way.”

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“Y’all the same people that said not to wash chicken before cooking it,” tweeted @neonbelly6116

https://twitter.com/neonbelly6116/status/1146196161511841793

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But to be fair, much of the outcry was misdirected.

The actual article was simply warning against putting burgers directly on a grill and telling people to instead put them on something like a heavy-duty pan.

So, it appears most people did not read the article and simply read the tweet that Businessweek posted. And people began to go after the caption, rather than clicking to read what Businessweek was talking about.

https://twitter.com/mongoposer/status/1146184323571179521

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https://twitter.com/johnbrhel/status/1146201426714071042

But, regardless, reading the article wouldn’t have made much of a difference. People will continue to hamburgers directly on a grill despite warning from experts because, well, America.

Sorry, Businessweek, you tried.

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