Roast Burgers: Whole Roast Meal in Your Hands
Roast Burgers: Whole Roast Meal in Your Hands
Most burgers start with a patty.
Ours start with a roast.
At BraaiCraft Smokehouse, our burgers were never designed to be another fast-food burger. They were created from a simple idea: what if you could enjoy an entire roast meal in your hands?
It sounds unusual at first, but when you break down the components of a traditional roast dinner, you’ll find that our burgers contain all the same elements. The difference is simply in how they’re assembled.
Why We Created the Roast Burger
BraaiCraft Smokehouse was created to showcase what can be achieved when quality ingredients are cooked using proper roasting, smoking, and live-fire techniques on BraaiCraft equipment.
Roasts have always been at the heart of what we do. Whether it’s chicken, duck, mutton, or pork, we believe some of the best meals come from cooking meat slowly, allowing flavour, texture, and natural juices to develop over time.
The challenge we set ourselves wasn’t to create another burger. It was to find a way to make a roast dinner enjoyable in one of the world’s most popular food formats.
Instead of starting with a patty and building a burger around it, we started with a complete roast meal and asked ourselves how each component could be reimagined while preserving its character.
The slow-roasted meat remained the centrepiece. The roast potatoes became duck-fat roasted hash browns. The dinner roll became our beetroot brioche bun. The jus, butter, cheddar, onion marmalade, and dijonnaise all came together to recreate the balance and satisfaction of a traditional roast.
The result is not a burger inspired by a roast dinner.
It’s a roast dinner, thoughtfully rebuilt into a format that can be held in your hands.
Today, every Roast Burger we serve reflects the same philosophy: roast first, burger second.
What Makes a Traditional Roast Meal?
Across many cultures, a roast meal follows a familiar formula.
A good roast plate usually includes:
- Slow-roasted meat
- Roasted potatoes
- Gravy or jus
- Bread or dinner rolls
- Butter
- Vegetables or greens
- Optional accompaniments such as cheese, sauces, and condiments
These elements work together to create a balanced meal. You have rich meat, crispy potatoes, savoury gravy, soft bread, creamy butter, and vegetables to cut through the richness.
It’s a format that has stood the test of time because it works.
When we began developing our burgers, we realised that every one of these components could be transformed into a gourmet handheld experience.
The Meat: Four Different Roasts, Four Different Burgers
The foundation of every BraaiCraft Smokehouse burger is slow-roasted meat.
Instead of relying on a conventional burger patty, we build our burgers around whole cuts that are smoked and roasted low and slow until they become tender enough to pull apart.
Today, our roast burger range includes:
- Chicken Roast Burger
- Duck Roast Burger
- Mutton Roast Burger
- Pork Roast Burger
Each protein is cooked differently to suit its character, but they all follow the same philosophy: roast first, burger second.
As the meat cooks, it develops deep flavour while retaining its natural juices. Those juices are never discarded. The pulled meat is folded back into its own roasting jus, creating a rich, savoury filling that delivers the same comforting flavour you’d expect from a plated roast dinner.
The result is a burger that eats like a proper meal rather than a quick snack.
The Potatoes: Roast Potatoes Reimagined
A roast dinner would not be complete without potatoes.
Instead of serving them on the side, we incorporate them directly into the burger through our duck-fat roasted potato hash browns.
The potatoes are roasted in duck fat until crisp and golden, providing texture and richness. They bring the familiar flavour of roast potatoes while adding a satisfying crunch that works perfectly inside a burger.
It’s the roast potato component of the meal, simply presented in a different form.
The Bread and Greens: Our Beetroot Brioche Dinner Rolls
Every roast meal needs something to soak up the gravy.
Traditionally, that might be a dinner roll served alongside the plate, often accompanied by vegetables or greens that bring freshness and balance to the meal.
Our burgers use soft beetroot brioche rolls made with beetroot pulp. Rich, slightly sweet, and incredibly soft, they perform the same role as a traditional dinner roll while adding their own character.
The beetroot pulp not only contributes colour and flavour but also introduces a vegetable element that reflects the greens commonly found on a roast plate.
The result is a bun that complements the roasted meat rather than competing with it while helping bring together the balance of a complete roast meal.
The Butter, Cheese, Marmalade and Sauce
A warm dinner roll is rarely served without butter.
We follow the same principle.
Each beetroot brioche bun is generously layered with butter and finished with mild cheddar cheese, house-made onion marmalade, and our signature dijonnaise.
The mild cheddar adds richness and comfort. The onion marmalade contributes sweetness and depth, much like the caramelised vegetables often served alongside a traditional roast. The dijonnaise provides brightness and a gentle tang that cuts through the richness of the meat and potatoes.
Together, these elements help create the balance, indulgence, and satisfaction of a complete roast dinner.
A Complete Meal, Reimagined
When you look closely, every component of a traditional roast dinner is present:
| Traditional Roast Meal | BraaiCraft Roast Burger |
|---|---|
| Slow-roasted meat | Pulled roasted meat in its own jus |
| Roast potatoes | Duck-fat roasted potato hash browns |
| Gravy or jus | Meat juices folded back into the filling |
| Dinner roll | Beetroot brioche bun |
| Butter | Buttered bun |
| Cheese accompaniment | Mild cheddar cheese |
| Roasted vegetables or sweet accompaniments | Onion marmalade |
| Greens and vegetables | Beetroot-infused brioche |
| Condiments | Dijonnaise |
Nothing has been removed.
Nothing has been simplified.
The entire meal has simply been reassembled into a format that’s easier to eat.
Designed to Travel
A roast dinner is usually something you sit down and enjoy with a knife and fork.
But not every meal needs a table.
One of the goals behind our roast burgers was to create a gourmet meal that could travel well. Every component is designed to stay together, retain its flavour, and arrive in excellent condition whether you’re dining at home, at work, or on the move.
The roasted meat remains juicy thanks to its jus. The duck-fat potato hash browns provide structure and texture. The beetroot brioche bun is soft enough to complement the fillings while being sturdy enough to hold everything together.
The result is a complete roast meal that’s portable, practical, and easy to enjoy wherever you are.
It’s everything we love about a traditional roast dinner, reimagined for modern dining.
Build Your Perfect Roast Burger
No two roast dinners are exactly alike.
Some people want extra meat. Others want an extra helping of potatoes. Some enjoy adding eggs, cheese, or bacon to make the meal even more indulgent.
That’s why our roast burgers can be customised to suit your appetite.
Guests can choose from a range of additions, including:
- Double the meat
- Bacon
- Over-easy fried egg
- Double duck-fat roasted hash browns
- Extra mild cheddar cheese
- Extra onion marmalade
- Extra dijonnaise
Much like returning for a second helping at a family roast, these additions allow you to build the roast burger experience that’s right for you.
From an Experiment to a Customer Favourite
When we first introduced our Roast Burgers, we knew they would be different from what most people expected.
They weren’t built around conventional burger patties. They were built around slow-roasted chicken, duck, mutton, and pork, combined with all the elements of a traditional roast meal.
What surprised us was how quickly customers embraced the idea.
As of May 2026, Roast Burgers have become some of the most frequently ordered items at BraaiCraft Smokehouse, second only to our Braais and traditional Roast Meals. What began as a way to reimagine a roast dinner has evolved into one of the defining parts of our menu.
Many guests discover our Roast Burgers first and then return to explore our larger roast meals, while others arrive for a roast and leave curious about how the same flavours translate into a burger.
Among the four variants, the Chicken Roast Burger has emerged as the most popular choice. Its combination of slow-roasted chicken, rich jus, duck-fat roasted hash brown, cheddar, onion marmalade, and beetroot brioche has made it a favourite for both first-time and returning customers.
The way guests customise their burgers has also been revealing. Our most popular add-on is Double the Meat, chosen in approximately one out of every five Roast Burger orders. For us, that’s a strong indication that customers aren’t looking for a light snack. They’re treating the Roast Burger as a proper meal, much like a traditional roast dinner.
Over time, we’ve watched customers move beyond simply ordering a burger. Many return to explore different proteins, comparing chicken, duck, mutton, and pork while discovering how each roast creates its own unique experience.
Perhaps the most satisfying feedback has been seeing customers understand the concept exactly as we intended it.
Not as a burger inspired by a roast dinner.
But as a roast dinner, served between two buns.
More Than a Burger
At BraaiCraft Smokehouse, our burgers reflect the same philosophy behind everything we cook.
We start with real fire, real roasting, and real cooking techniques. The goal isn’t to create the biggest burger or the most extravagant burger. It’s to create food that delivers the depth, comfort, and satisfaction of a proper meal.
These burgers were also born from the same idea that created BraaiCraft Smokehouse itself: showcasing what can be achieved when quality ingredients meet proper roasting techniques and thoughtfully designed BraaiCraft equipment.
That’s why we think of our burgers differently.
They’re not just burgers.
They’re whole roast dinners, served between two buns.
Whether you choose chicken, duck, mutton, or pork, every burger carries the same philosophy: slow-roasted meat, roast potatoes, rich jus, buttered beetroot brioche, cheddar, onion marmalade, and carefully balanced flavours brought together into one handheld gourmet meal.
And once you taste them, you’ll understand why
FAQs
A roast burger is a gourmet burger built using slow-roasted meat and the components of a traditional roast dinner. At BraaiCraft Smokehouse, our roast burgers combine pulled roasted meat in its own jus, duck-fat roasted potato hash browns, beetroot brioche buns, cheddar cheese, onion marmalade, and dijonnaise to create a complete roast meal in a handheld format.
Most burgers are built around a grilled meat patty. A roast burger is built around slow-roasted meat that is pulled apart and mixed back into its own roasting juices. The result is a richer, more complex flavour that reflects a traditional roast dinner rather than a conventional burger.
BraaiCraft Smokehouse offers four roast burger options:
- Chicken Roast Burger
- Duck Roast Burger
- Mutton Roast Burger
- Pork Roast Burger
Each burger is made using slow-roasted meat and follows the same roast-first philosophy.
Our burgers are designed to recreate the experience of a complete roast meal. Instead of focusing on a burger patty alone, we combine slow-roasted meat, duck-fat roasted potatoes, roasting jus, buttered beetroot brioche buns, cheddar cheese, onion marmalade, and dijonnaise into a single gourmet burger.
A typical roast burger includes:
- Slow-roasted pulled meat
- Roasting jus
- Duck-fat roasted potato hash brown
- Beetroot brioche bun
- Butter
- Mild cheddar cheese
- Onion marmalade
- Dijonnaise
Each ingredient represents a component commonly found in a traditional roast meal.
Onion marmalade is a slow-cooked onion relish with a rich, sweet, and savoury flavour. It adds depth and sweetness to the burger, similar to the caramelised vegetables often served alongside a roast dinner.
Duck fat provides exceptional flavour and helps create a crisp, golden texture. Our duck-fat roasted potato hash browns bring the comforting taste of roast potatoes while adding structure and crunch to the burger.
Our beetroot brioche bun is a soft, enriched bread made using beetroot pulp. It adds subtle sweetness, colour, and character while serving the same role as a traditional dinner roll in a roast meal.
Yes. Guests can customise their roast burgers with a range of additions including:
- Double the meat
- Bacon
- Over-easy fried egg
- Double duck-fat roasted hash browns
- Extra cheddar cheese
- Extra onion marmalade
- Extra dijonnaise
Yes. Our roast burgers were specifically designed to travel well. The roasted meat remains juicy, the hash browns provide texture, and the beetroot brioche bun holds everything together, making the burger suitable for takeaway and delivery.
If you’re new to roast burgers, the Chicken Roast Burger is a great introduction. For richer flavours, many guests enjoy the Duck Roast Burger, Mutton Roast Burger, or Pork Roast Burger, each offering its own distinct roast character.
Yes. BraaiCraft Smokehouse was created to showcase what can be achieved using BraaiCraft smokers, grills, and fire-cooking equipment. The same roasting principles used throughout our menu are reflected in our roast burgers.
