So today we tackled one of the great questions of our time – “to pineapple or not to pineapple?” Said another way, “must one add pineapple to the Australian burger with the lot in order to optimize the experience?” Many of you said yes, a few dissented. I realized I wouldn’t really be able to sleep well again unless I tried it for myself. with the help of my official tasters, my husband and father, I set out to settle the matter once and for all. The verdict? I’m going for pineapple is optional. It may just be that American tastes vary from Australian, but the pineapple didn’t wow us. It tasted like, well, pineapple. If you like pineapple, great, otherwise I think skipping it is just fine.
Unlike the beets, pancetta and onions, the pineapple just layered another flavor without elevating the dish. We tried both grilled and raw pineapple, and found no great difference.
So, my vote, skip the pineapple but never skip the beets.
One additional note, if you do add pineapple, move the beets above the burger in the stack. 
Otherwise, this burger becomes unreliable structurally. My father gave up on eating his sandwich style and had to resort to a fork and knife. He did eat it all though…
I stacked the second one better, so my husband’s stayed together. This is still 
the most difficult burger to eat. Bring lots of napkins and a fork and knife just in case.
I’m going to have to break down and make one of the Aussie Burgers. Seems like a lot of effort for a slab of beef lol. However, it does look tasty.
it’s not that bad in terms of work – you can cook up the pancetta and onions in advance. the only tricky part is getting the burgers and the eggs done at the same time. I basically set up an assembly line of all of the toppings so that as soon as the burgers are done I can start piling everything up.
Book-marked, I enjoy your site! 🙂
Thanks Hector and welcome!
As an Australian, I can vouch that pineapple is an optional extra. Good on a chicken burger, not so great on a beef patty.
I can however confirm that it is beetroot (as it’s called here) that makes a burger ‘Aussie’.
Happy eating 🙂
I think the beetroot is a brilliant addition to the classic cheeseburger. I’m amazed it hasn’t caught on in other places. I’ll do what I can to spread the word.
Cheers!
I was just going to say, pineapple is GREAT on chicken burgers (especially fried chicken), but not so great on beef burgers.
Also, I never realised it was supposedly an Australian thing. Beetroot is always claimed to be, but I actually always felt that grated carrot was the true culprit. Lunch bars and corner delis are all over this.
I hadn’t heard of the grated carrot thing, I’ll have to try it some time. Pineapple with chicken makes a lot more sense to me than with beef, but there do seem to be a lot of “pineapple on a burger” fans out there.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Still loving your blog. It makes me soo hungry! Because May is National Burger Month, another blog dedicated to hamburgers is requesting readers submit some of their homemade burger recipes. Your burgers would look great there! http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/05/share-your-homemade-burgers-on-aht-during-national-burger-month.html
Thanks for the kind words and for the heads up! I will check it out and submit a recipe.
Cheers 🙂
As an Australian I would have to say the pineapple is pretty important in a burger with the lot. If you want to leave of the pineapple then that’s fine – but it isn’t a burger with the lot without pineapple and beetroot.
Re your comment: “We tried both grilled and raw pineapple, and found no great difference.”Aussies wouldn’t use either raw or grilled pineapple on a burger – it has to be tinned pineapple rings 🙂
I love how passionately Australians feel about this topic! Tinned and fresh tasted about the same when you mixed in all the other flavors, as did grilled or un-grilled. I think we’re still at about 50/50 on pineapple, even amongst Australians. I wonder if there are regional differences in pov on pineapple?
At any rate, it’s an awesome crave-worthy burger either way – so if you say pineapple, then crack open a can and throw some pineapple on!
cheers
L