This Might Be Austin’s Best Burger. Here’s How to Make It.

Chef Phillip Frankland Lee shares the recipe for his delicious NADC Burger, which he's been working on with Neen Williams for two years

November 15, 2022 6:19 am
The Not a Damn Change Burger, a cheeseburger currently available at Idle Hands bar in Austin, Texas. We've got the recipe.
Or you could just go to Idle Hands and buy one.
Chris Anderson

Austin’s recently opened NADC (Not a Damn Chance) Burger comes from Michelin-starred chef Phillip Frankland Lee — who’s also behind Sushi by Scratch Restaurants and Pasta Bar — and professional skateboarder Neen Williams. It’s a labor of love.

“Neen and I have been working on this burger for almost two years, giving them away for free at events every once in a while,” Lee tells InsideHook. “Now that we feel we finally perfected it, we wanted to make it available for everyone to try.”

Rather than opening a standalone restaurant, they’re operating out of the back of the Rainey Street bar Idle Hands. The menu leans hard into core competencies, offering just one burger and a side of fries. 

“We worked a very long time to make what we feel is the perfect burger with the perfect ratios of meat to bun and cheese to meat, down to how many pickles and jalapeños each burger gets,” says Lee.

That burger is composed of 100% full-blooded premium Texas wagyu beef from Iron Table Wagyu in Gatesville, Texas. The burger is topped with American cheese, secret sauce, onions, pickles and jalapeños. And, yes, the fries are indeed fried in wagyu fat.

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If you want to try creating this burger at home, Lee says it’s all about the seasoning. They use a proprietary seasoning blend (Neen Williams has his own spice line), but he suggests an at-home mixture of salt, pepper, celery salt, garlic and onion powder. And while the secret sauce is, as the name implies, a secret, you can dress the burger to your preference, or try mixing ketchup and mayo for a similar experience.

NADC Burger Recipe

Servings: 1

Ingredients
  • 2 3-oz. balls of ground Texas wagyu beef 
  • 2 slices American cheese
  • 1 yellow onion, sliced paper thin
  • 6-7 dill pickle chips
  • 4 medium-heat pickled jalapeños 
  • 1 burger bun
  • NADC burger seasoning, to taste
  • Secret sauce, to taste
Directions
    1. Place the beef on the griddle and smash as thin as you can, then quickly season aggressively. 

    2. Cover each patty with a layer of shaved onions and cook until the edges of the meat begin to curl up from the griddle, then flip.  

    3. Immediately add a slice of cheese over each patty, and toast the buns on both sides, being sure to only get a little color on the bread. 

    4. As the cheese is melting, add a generous amount of secret sauce to both sides of the bun, then cover the bottom bun with 6-7 pickle chips.

    5. Stack both patties onto the bottom bun, top with 4 jalapeños evenly spread out, and close the burger.

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