Checklists / Burger Joint

Burger Joint Checklists

Seven free checklists covering the whole burger joint's day - goods-in, thaw and prep (mise en place), opening and line fire-up, grill and fryer cook temperatures, keeping food hot (hot holding) and assembly, and closing with waste and food cost. 50 of the 59 checks are tied to published evidence: FDA's fast-food risk-factor inspections (keeping food cold (cold holding) out of compliance 68.24% of the time, keeping food hot 23.95%, cooking 10.65%), CDC EHS-Net observations of 234 burgers and 385 restaurants, the only published field survey of fryer-oil breakdown level (TPM), and 2024–2025 US drive-thru benchmarking. The safety temperatures follow the US FDA Food Code and the cost and speed benchmarks are US figures, so hold to your local code and set your own targets where they differ. Where no data exists - how much food is wasted from keeping it hot too long, thaw-rule violations, how long an assembled burger can safely be held - we say so, and the checklist generates the number for you.

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Goods-In & ReceivingThe cook line can only be as safe and as cheap as what came through the back door. Probe it, count it, date it, and start tomorrow's thaw today. · 7 checks Thaw, Prep & Mise en PlaceEvery ticket time and every remake is decided here, before service starts. Thaw to the rule, batch to the time of day, label everything. · 9 checks Opening & Line Fire-UpGrill up, fryer up, oil tested, probes calibrated, rail cold - before the first ticket, not after the first complaint. · 12 checks Grill & Fryer - Cook to TemperatureThe one check no shortcut survives: put a probe in it. Colour, juices and feel are opinions, not measurements. · 9 checks Hot Holding, Assembly & Speed of ServiceHot above 57°C, cold below 5°C, every batch on a timer, and every bag checked before it leaves the window. · 9 checks Closing, Waste & Food CostLog the discards, cost the day, set tomorrow's thaw. The numbers captured tonight are the order you fix in the morning. · 10 checks

The five rules that protect profit

1. Probe it, don't judge itColour, juices and feel are opinions. 68°C (155°F) for ground beef, 74°C (165°F) for poultry, measured with a probe you calibrated this morning.

2. Hot or cold, never in betweenCooked product at 57°C (135°F) or above, cold product at 0–5°C (32–41°F). Anything outside both is on a written clock or it is in the bin.

3. Every batch has a timerHeld product dies on the clock, not on someone's memory. Tag it going in, discard at expiry, never re-time a batch by topping it up.

4. Stock enough for your busiest hour (par)Buns, patties and chicken run out at the hour they earn most. Set your stock level for the busiest hour, not the day's average.

5. Log it or repeat itDiscards, remakes and items you ran out of (stockouts), logged tonight, become tomorrow's prep list and next week's order. What isn't counted repeats.

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Burger Joint Checklists

The five rules that protect profit

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