Restaurant sets rugby team 23lb burger challenge

IT is a burger that takes the meaning of supersize to a whole new level.A 23lb whopper containing more than 25,000 calories was the dish of the day at Hamiltons Bar and Kitchen as six Watsonians rugby players attempted to tackle their biggest opponent to date.

The Stockbridge restaurant claims its beefy burger, which contains more than 7.5kg of mince and 20 onion rings, is the biggest ever made in Britain – and more than double the previous record in Scotland.

The half dozen players tucked in to the treat yesterday afternoon – along with a bucket of chips – after they were challenged to scoff the lot by restaurant owners, Martin Luney and Colin Church.

The lads chomped thick slices of the whopper – each more than a quarter of a metre tall – for two hours before they admitted the burger had got the better of them. A quarter of it remained on the plate.

Player Freddie Main, 31, said the team had tried to tackle the monster meal with the same mentality they would adopt during a tough game.

He said: “We had a good go, but as there were only six of us, it was pretty tough. Four of us got through our first wedges and went for a second, but Nathan [Mather] and Ross [Buchan] even struggled to finish their first portion. They were the girls of the group.

“I’ll admit there were a couple of toilet breaks throughout the challenge, and we all got the meat sweats and headaches. We felt pretty terrible afterwards and needed a lie down. It was a tough challenge, but it was great for team bonding.”

Mr Luney, 35, said the burger had taken about three hours to prepare.

He said: “We wanted to set the players a bit of a challenge, but we mainly did it for fun. From research, we think the biggest burger in Scotland before this was around 11lbs. The biggest one we found in the UK was 17lbs.”

Chef Sean Canning added: “The most difficult thing is finding the space to do it. I won’t try a slice because we made a practice 20lb burger last week. I’m sick of hamburger.”

Burger ingredients

7.5kg 28-day-hung Auchterarder beef mince

10 egg yolks

100g caramelised onions

250g home-made red cabbage and fennel ’slaw

10 sliced beef tomatoes

4 sliced sweet romaine lettuces

500g Iain Mellis Isle of Mull Cheddar

20 Scottish Ale battered onion rings

Specially-baked Poppy seed bun by Breadwinner in Bruntsfield

Seasoned with Hamilton’s own recipe of herbs, spices and peppercorn blend

Calories: 25,500