What’s scarier than a ghost? How about a ghost pepper burger on an orange bun?
Burger King has you covered.
The Florida-based fast food chain is celebrating Halloween with a limited edition burger — the Ghost Pepper Whopper. The ghastly version of Burger King’s signature dish features a quarter-pound beef patty, ghost pepper cheese, bacon, crispy jalapeños and queso sauce, all on an orange bun with black sesame seeds. The ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, was at one time the spiciest pepper in the world — 170 times hotter than Tabasco hot sauce — and has become more common in cuisine as spice fiends look to eat even hotter food.
We’ll look past the fact that when it comes to fast food chains Burger King is far inferior to McDonald’s, Wendy’s and just about every other major burger joint. Though in theory, the Ghost Pepper Whopper could be a hit — a kicked up version of an otherwise mediocre sandwich.
But while the Ghost Pepper Whopper may have a scary name and a seasonal look, it’s more of a trick than a treat.
I’ll give Burger King this: The Ghost Pepper Whopper looks pretty creepy. The orange bun and black sesame seeds are a great effect. Some might find it off-putting, I found it fluffily festive. Okay, not that fluffy, because it’s still just a Burger King bun, but you get what I’m saying.
Once you get past the aesthetic, however, it’s about as scary as a child’s Halloween costume. Unless you absolutely can’t stand spice this burger isn’t going to bother you. I’m not saying Burger King didn’t use ghost pepper in the cheese for this burger, but if they did they used only the tiniest amount.
The jalapeños added a nice crunch and a little bit of heat and the bacon was crispy enough. But even that wasn’t enough to save this burger from its biggest issue — the actual burger. The beef patty that Burger King loves to brag is “flame-broiled” had the flavor of a burger you would be served in a middle school cafeteria. It honestly tasted more like a salisbury steak than a burger. There is a time and a place for salisbury steak. That time is not Halloween, and that place is not Burger King.
The biggest sin with the Ghost Pepper Whopper is not the ghost pepper — it’s hard to imagine a fast food chain making something legitimately spicy. It’s the Whopper. It’s an inferior fast food burger to the Big Mac or the Dave’s Single at Wendy’s, and not even in the same category as anything you’d get at Shake Shack or Five Guys. Limp, flavorless and boring, even the addition of some sort of spicy cheese couldn’t hide that.
So if you want to get into the Halloween spirit, go ahead and get the Ghost Pepper Whopper. But if you just want a good fast food burger, head to Shake Shack.
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Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com and followed on Twitter at @J_Schneider and on Instagram at @JeremyIsHungryAgain.