These Convenience Store Burgers Are A Microwaved Disaster But That's Not The Only Reason To Avoid Them

There are plenty of great things about Sheetz. The family-owned convenience chain is open 24/7 all year-round, with an expansive menu that's got all your road-trip or late-night cravings covered. While some of its made-to-order items are hits — such as the meatball sub, a favorite of celebrity chef Duff Goldman – others may be worth skipping. In our taste tester's review of Sheetz menu items, they revealed that the "burgerz" are a foul-colored mess.

It wasn't just our taste tester who reviewed it poorly; the internet is full of similarly harsh critique. "Sheetz burgers are the worst food item in the entire kitchen," one Redditor noted. "I genuinely question anyone's sanity who orders them." Another thing both the internet and our taste tester noticed was the burger's unappetizing grayish color. This is undoubtedly the consequence of cooking it in the microwave.

Let's compare the microwave to the grill, which is considered to be one of the best methods for cooking burgers. Grilling uses high, direct heat to sear the meat. This allowed the exterior to develop a deeply browned crust through the Maillard reaction while keeping the inside juicy. As the burger cooks, fat renders and contributes to a smoky, charred flavor when it hits the flames. In contrast, microwaving lacks the high, dry heat needed for browning, so the burger fails to develop the same color or flavor while also retaining more grease from the lack of rendered fat. This is such an issue that employees have complained about the sheer amount of grease that's left over after making the burgers. 

There appears to be nothing fresh about Sheetz burgers. According to one Redditor, "[The burger] comes to them from the truck as 'frozen pre-cooked burger patties.' They're then thawed out in the walk-in cooler. From there, they are heated in the microwave and ready to serve." To make matters worse, several employees have also mentioned that once the burgers are microwaved, they're left to sit for several hours before being served. As the microwave would have already made the burgers soggy, leaving them to sit for hours will only make them worse. 

There are several reasons why burger patties are one of the food items that should never go into a microwave. See, microwaves work by hitting the food with electromagnetic waves, which causes the water molecules to vibrate rapidly and create heat. For water-based leftovers like soups or stews, microwaves can come in handy. But for burgers, as the water molecules turn to steam, you're destined for a soggy mess. Another major red flag about the Sheetz burgers is that they're frozen. When left to thaw, the patties accumulate excess moisture, which will create more steam when they're microwaved to further compromise their texture and flavor.

While microwaved patties are a recipe for disaster, you can make up for the poor texture and flavor by adding creative toppings. One Redditor suggested: "Ask someone in the kitchen to add salt [and] pepper to the burger. Or see if they can add one of the seasonings to it." You could also customize them with delicious condiments like ketchup or mustard to boost the flavor, or fix the texture by adding crisp toppings like lettuce, onions, and pickles for a bit of crunch.