Burger King’s slogan used to be “Have It Your Way” here in the U.S., and maybe it’s just something that never crossed out minds, but in Japan this week Burger King announced that “your way” now includes a burger that is as black as night. Here it is:
The beef, coated in black pepper, sits on buns made of bamboo charcoal. It’s topped with an onion and garlic sauce made of squid ink. Even the cheese is black, made from bamboo charcoal as well. The Kuro Burger comes in either Pearl or Diamond versions. The latter comes topped with slices of lettuce, tomato, and onions.
Now, you might be thinking - I’ve already had a black burger at Burger King in Japan. But you are probably confusing this burger with last year’s Ninja Burger, which featured a prominent “tongue” that stuck out at the customers, as well as wide-size hash browns, onions, lettuce, mayonnaise, and a blackish brown Chaliapin sauce.
But in fact, the Kuro burger itself debuted in 2012 and was apparently rather successful. And before you object to squid ink in your food, you should know that Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian cuisines all make not-uncommon use of squid ink in cooking, and squid ink pasta in particular is very highly regarded, often when paired with seafood and cream-based sauces.
Of course, if you are more of a chicken person, head into KFC this week, where they are offering a contest to win a free fried chicken keyboard and mouse!