Honest Burgers have launched a new Manchester special – so what’s it like?

Comforting yet impressive, Beef Wellington is one of those perfect dishes. And for Kris Coulton, the creative chef at Honest Manchester, it provided the inspiration for their latest burger.

Launching next week, the brand new Beef Wellington burger will replace the original Manchester special, which contained Bury black pudding, Runaway beer cheese sauce, mini roasties, bacon gravy, rocket and pickles.

We had a sneak preview of the new Beef Wellington special back in the summer, but now, with a couple of adjustments, it’s ready to go on the menu. And, Manchester, you’re in for a treat.

On the bottom is earthy mushroom duxelles, made with chestnut and shiitake mushrooms with fresh thyme, garlic, salt and pepper, sweated down to get rid of the moisture and to intensify the umami-rich flavours.

Then there’s spinach and sharp, crunchy homemade pickles, topped with a juicy signature beef patty served perfectly pink (or however you prefer it).

Next is a homemade garlic butter and Dijon bearnaise butter spiked with fresh fragrant tarragon, with melting Owd Yonner Lancashire cheese and smoked bacon on top.

As ever, Honest are working with local suppliers and wanted to use a regional cheese in the finished burger – so the Owd Yonner comes courtesy of Jonathan Pearcey, also known as The Crafty Cheese Man.

It’s a 12-month aged rich and creamy Lancashire, that packs just enough of a punch and provides that Wellington buttery pastry richness.

It’s crowned with gluten-free puff pastry fries, an innovative, crunchy take on the pastry you’d usually find in a Wellington, with a pot of Honest’s secret recipe beef and bacon gravy to pour at will over the top before replacing the lid.

“When we did the burger in London for the team to test, everyone was just eating the puff pastry fries like it was Bombay mix,” says chef Kris. 

And we can see why. They’re crunchy and delicious, and take on a wonderful chewiness when doused in the intensely savoury gravy.

It comes, as all Honest burgers do, with homemade rosemary salted chips, which were once described by food critic Jay Rayner as “edible crystal meth”.

Capturing all the flavours of the classic British dish, but in a burger, the new special is rich and just the right side of messy with all the flavour elements coming through individually as well as working seamlessly together.

For Kris, it seemed like an obvious choice when creating a new special.

“The beef here is some of the best beef I’ve ever eaten,” he says about Honest’s 100% British beef patties made in their own butchery.

“So what do you do with the best beef? You make the best dish.”

And they really have. Manchester’s new special is very special indeed.

The Beef Wellington burger launches at Honest Burgers, Bridge Street, Manchester on Tuesday 13th October priced £12.50 including chips.