“Putting the BITE into the burger“
A new smashed beef burger joint has just opened near the Leisure Exchange with a simple and exciting concept for Bradford.
Owners Asif Haider, 26 and Nazia Ali, 34 are so confident in their new fast food concept that they’re already talking about setting up in high streets across the country.
The Bradford-born business duo spent almost a year not just devising the concept but experimenting to create a style and quality of burger unique to Bradford and the Yorkshire region.
Their new burger joint, which opened on 22nd August is all about the quality of the beef and specialises only in beef burgers. Fries and hand-spun milkshakes are also on the menu.
“I first discovered a proper good burger when I visited Dubai a few years ago – it was the first time I’d tasted anything like it.
“Burger restaurants like ‘Shake Shack’ and ‘Five Guys’ inspired me to experience a new level of burger taste” said Asif.
“I love my burgers, but growing up in Yorkshire, I was used to the kind of burgers you can find anywhere – made mostly from frozen beef or ready made burger patties supplied by meat wholesalers.
“They’re OK if that’s what you want, but they’re nothing like the ones I had tasted abroad which take burgers it to a whole new level.
“Bite burgers are based on an American burger concept called a ‘smashed’ burger.
“You take a fresh beef patty and literally smash it down on a hot grill to create a crust on one side and a really delicious caramelised flavour.
“But it can only be done properly with the right quality of beef using specific cuts that are blended to create the perfect flavour and crust.”
Asif recognised the demand and gap for a proper smashed burger joint in Bradford and so moved his focus away from working as a fully qualified locum pharmacist to instead work on creating the perfect package for the new business.
Nazia said: “Although the burger seems like a really simple thing, it’s actually a very complicated recipe. And it’s taken us about a year to get it exactly right, going to various specialist beef providers. Even once we got the meet combo right, we still spent a couple of months perfecting it even more, along with the correct cooking techniques.”
Asif added: “Instead of going to a butcher and asking him to supply their own blends of beef, we did it all ourselves, we researched and tested all the different cuts of beef and made our own unique blend. You can’t buy this ready-made – we get them made to our exact specifications. It’s our own secret blend, delivered only to us.
“We only use fresh beef – never frozen. 100% Halal and HMC certified suppliers. It’s Aberdeen Angus, which is a breed that tends to have the best flavour. It’s known as prime beef as it’s really high quality cuts. It’s dry-aged for at least 21 days; the cows are also free-range and grass fed, so those things all combine to create the amazing flavour we get.
“Our burgers are made with different cuts of the cow and for ours we’ve chosen three specific cuts for what we think gives the best flavour and we decided exactly what ratio of fat to lean meat we required. It took a lot of experimenting to get it right – the quantity of which beef cut to which percentage of fat and so on.”
“The first thing we want to do is get the name out there and then build the brand,” said Asif.
We want to keep it simple for potential future franchising as well.
“We’d like to open another branch within a year and the dream is to be on every high street. “We want to be known as the place people think of first for a proper burger – a really good burger joint, with consistent high quality and service.
“We’re not about gourmet food – we serve delicious and high quality fast food. Not too fancy and reasonably priced. “We want our burger to speak it for itself. The tastiest, most memorable burgers our customers have ever had. Our strapline is ‘Burgers you can taste with every BITE’.”
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