For camping or picnic, the idea of grilling burger buns and patties and eating it straight off the grill, is something we have seen in Hollywood movies. Towards the end of October, Woodside Burger Shop, the cloud kitchen counterpart to Woodside Inn, launched Grillmaster, a single-use grill made of wood and bamboo to flip burger buns and patties.
This Grillmaster box consists of a pack of burgers (the number of burgers vary from six, nine, 12 and 15 depending upon the price), all required ingredients, one disposable grill with all key tools with instructions on how to prepare and store burgers. The starting price of the Grillmaster is ₹4,000 plus GST and maximum cost is ₹5,500 plus GST and it can be ordered online through food delivery apps or direct through Woodside Inn.
Before placing the patties on the grill, lightly apply oil on both sides so it does not stick to the grill and start grilling. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Their vegetarian burger choices include crunchy pesto paneer burger layered with fermented sauerkraut, black olives, mozzarella cheese, and their signature in-house pesto. Mexican guacamole & two bean jalapeno has herbed two beans and guacamole burger with garlic aioli, mozarella cheese, served with in-house garlic mayo and flavoured game chips (rice flour deep fried chips).
The chili cheese burger has cajun spiced potato patty with Bhavnagri (a non spicy Indian jalapeño from Bhavnagar, Gujarat) and paprika chilli, coated in a cheese sauce.
The non-vegetarian burger options are Tokyo teriyaki chicken burger that has grilled chicken glazed with savory teriyaki sauce, nestled in a bun with fresh lettuce, sliced tomato, and mayo. Chimichurri grilled chicken burger features grilled chicken marinated in chimichurri sauce, served on a bun with lettuce, tomato, and sauce. Buff & bacon with jalapenos burger has buffalo patty paired with bacon, jalapenos, in a bun with fresh toppings.
Once assembled, the grill should be placed on a safe and even surface with no flammable material close by. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Devouring gooey burgers
On a Saturday afternoon, people from all walks of life gathered at gastropub Woodside Inn in Andheri for the launch of Grillmaster. After live comedy shows, the in-house chefs laid out the Grillmaster kit to give a live demonstration on how to use the grill. Orders were taken as curious gastronomes watched and shot videos of the patties and buns being grilled.
Our first order, Mexican guacamole & two bean jalapeno arrived and it looked gram worthy with toppings of black and white seasme, chia and pumpkin seeds. As I take a bite, I feel the crunchiness as the fillings popped out in multiple colours. At first I thought the red vegetable was beetroot but it was actually mukhalal pickle; a mixture of beetroot, carrot and purple cabbage. The patty is made of kidney beans and black beans that are soaked overnight, slow cooked the next day and roughly mashed with 10 % potato, oregano and garlic aioli.
The grill will last for around three hours, while its prime heat lasts for about two hours. | Photo Credit: Purnima Sah
We also ate Tokyo teriyaki chicken burger that was crunchy, cheesy with the teriyaki sauce providing a welcome punch. The grilled chicken patty has 50 % of chicken legs and 50 % of chicken breast. They are minced with salt, pepper, French basil, oregano, teriyaki sauce and after the patties are cooked, melted cheddar cheese is added with roasted peanuts on top.
Corporate chef Subhash Shirke says Woodside Burger Shop only uses multigrain whole wheat burger buns that are baked in-house. “To bind the patty, we prepare a thin batter with one teaspoon of corn flour and fine flour and coat the patty with it before putting it on the grill. While making the burger dough, we not only put grains such as sesame, pumpkin and, chia seeds on the top of the bun but also inside so that when you take a bite, you also get the crunchiness of the seeds. We add salt, pepper or sugar on the top of the buns. Our burgers are handmade and home-style.”
Four patties can be grilled at a time on Grillmaster. | Photo Credit: Purnima Sah
If someone wants to take the Grillmaster kit on their trip to Alibaug or Lonavala early in the morning, they can order it the night before and keep the box in their refrigerator. “The box contains ice packs that can last for six hours and the patties are vacuum packed,” says chef Subhash, who has been with Woodside Inn since 2007.
Tokyo teriyaki chicken burger. | Photo Credit: Purnima Sah
Woodside Burger Shop was launched in the year 2011 with the idea of hosting burger stalls at various events in the city. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the burger stalls were put on hold and that is when Woodside Burger Shop became a cloud kitchen. Sumit Gambhir, founder of Woodside Burger Shop says their relationship with burgers began 16 years ago with a beer and burger festival at Woodside Inn.
“During the lockdown, lot of people from Mumbai were moving to their farm houses in Lonavala or Alibaug and that’s when we thought of bringing the grill but it took us some time to launch it because we wanted to make sure the box is designed properly and the patties for all the burgers will travel well when vacuum packed. The grill is designed by Casus Grill, a Bengaluru-based company. It takes three minutes to assemble with the help of the instructions in the box. Right now we are only available in Mumbai.”
Dos and Don’ts
Once assembled, the grill should be placed on a safe and even surface with no flammable material or liquid close by. This kit is designed for outdoor open air use but if one is using it indoors, it is advised to place it under a chimney.
Keep a pair of tongs to shuffle the lit coal pieces and a spatula to flip the burgers patties, that comes with the kit. It is recommended to light the coal pieces using a candle or lighter. Once all the coal pieces are lit and have turned ash grey in colour, place the bamboo grill on top and you are ready to grill.
Mexican guacamole & two bean jalapeno burger. | Photo Credit: Purnima Sah
Four patties can be grilled at a time. Before placing the patties on the grill, gently reshape them, lightly apply oil on both sides so it does not stick to the grill and start grilling. Vegetable burger patties need to be grilled for about seven to eight minutes on each side, while non-veg patties take about five to seven minutes on each side.
Chef tip
Five minutes before taking the patty off the grill, place the cheeze provided on top of the patty for a gooey cheese result. You may also smoke bacon and toast the buns on the grill. The grill will last for around three hours, while its prime heat lasts for about two hours.
The starting price of the Grillmaster is ₹4,000 plus GST and maximum cost is ₹5,500 plus GST and it can be ordered through food delivery apps and direct through Woodside Inn.
