Serving an amazing in-house burger can help boost your restaurant's sales and help the word spread about your delicious food. The key, of course, is to start with a recipe for great in-house ground patties. Once your kitchen has come up with the perfect blend of onion, garlic, meat, and other tasty ingredients, you'll want to think of ways to elevate the burger so it becomes the star of your menu. Here are some great options to help put your burger over the top. 

Locally Sourced Gourmet Breads

Ditch the traditional plain bun in favor of something more upscale. One way to do this is to contact local bakeries you love to see who has outstanding burger buns. Pretzel, brioche, and egg buns are all great options, but you'll want to keep the flavors of your burger patties in mind as you audition new breads for this essential part of the menu. You might even want to consider putting together a tasting, where you bring several cooked hamburger patties so you and the bakery staff can test out each flavor combination. Once the completed burger is on the menu, give credit to the bakery for providing the buns to help the owners help increase their sales, too. 

House-Made Special Sauce

Making your restaurant's own house-made sauce can make your business the only place in town to get a unique and flavorful burger. Challenge your kitchen staff to come up with a  delicious special sauce that blends zesty, spicy, and sweet flavors to act as a replacement for ketchup and mustard. After you find a winning sauce combo, hype it up on the menu under the listing for your in-house burgers. You can even offer tasting portions to customers with any meal so they can sample the deliciousness. Consider bottling the sauce so there's extra at each table for whenever customers order hamburgers off of the menu. 

Specialty Burger Topping Combos

You can build your menu so the in-house burger is offered in several different forms. Start with the classic in-house burger topped with lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, and the house-made special sauce. After this option, build different burgers to suit an array of tastes, such as Tex-Mex burgers served with onion rings and pepper-Jack cheese or pizza burgers served with mozzarella, bell peppers, mushrooms, and pepperoni. Unique topping combos give the menu more variety without requiring you to house the full list of ingredients for several different types of meals in your kitchen. Don't forget to offer junior-size options for your classic in-house burger and other kid-friendly topping combinations.

In-House Burger Pairings

If your restaurant has a vast beer or wine menu, consider adding pairing suggestions to the menu. This can help boost liquor and food sales while truly adding to the overall tasting experience. Your kitchen and waitstaff can work together to determine which beers and wines go best with each type of burger on the menu. Another way to make the most of this idea is to offer a tasting flight under your appetizer offerings. Serve up three versions of your burgers in slider form along with tasting portions of beer or wine. You can expand your available appetizer menu without making a significant investment in additional ingredients for your kitchen. 

Contact a company like Burger Addict to learn more about making in-house burgers.