Culver's First ButterBurgers Were Made Using This Kitchen Tool

Once upon a time, getting Culver's burger patty just the right size required precision, and it was achieved thanks to a common kitchen tool you might not expect. Culver's first ButterBurgers were kept uniform by using an ice cream scoop. The tool measured the beef before cooks shaped it into a patty. The meat was then pressed into the grill to achieve the famous ButterBurger sear. The preparation and cooking method helped make it many customers' go-to burger order at Culver's.

Craig and Lea Culver founded the restaurant in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin, alongside Craig's parents, George and Ruth Culver. George and Ruth had previous restaurant experience, but the business still wasn't profitable at first. In business for over four decades, Culver's now has 1,000 locations across 26 states. "We just about went bankrupt the first year," Craig Culver told Restaurant Business in 2019. He shared that travelers visiting from Chicago helped turn things around. That, combined with the made-to-order quality of its burgers, helped the business break even the second year and turn a profit by the third year. 

The ice cream scoop was used to measure out the amount of meat used in the original ButterBurgers․ Today, grill cooks shape freshly ground hamburger patties to a desired thickness to ensure even cooking․ The chain provides one-on-one training for its grill master position and says mastering the work takes several months. 

The butter comes into play with the bun. The top of the bun is buttered prior to the seared burger being added, giving Culver's version of a Midwest butter burger its name. Co-founder Craig Culver credits his mother, Ruth, with the buttered-bun method the restaurant has used since opening.

Employees use the same process for every order, changing toppings to make a simpler or more elaborate sandwich. The Deluxe option comes with Wisconsin cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, and mayonnaise․ "The works" comes with ketchup, mustard, pickles, and red onion․ The Double Deluxe is a go-to, and many of its variations are a Culver's order customers swear by.