BK’s spooky new special is now available nationwide and packs a surprising punch. Here’s our review.
If there ’s one thingBurger Kingis going to do , it ’s celebrate spooky season . Last yr , the fast food favorite celebrated Halloween with the premiere ofGhost Pepper Nuggets . This year , it ’s doubling down on the Zak Bagans lifestyle with thelaunch of a Ghost Pepper Whopper , available at locations nationwide starting October 13 , as well as a " specter hunt " feature of speech that canland you BOGO Whopperson its app .
If you ’re spiciness - averse or pyrosis - prone , the simple reference of the ghost pepper could be enough to send your thorn into shivers . The ghost pepper , also known as bhut jolokia in its aboriginal India , isone of the humanity ’s hottest peppers . Its Scoville rating ranges from 850,000 to 1,050,000 unit , almost 30x gamey than chili pepper Piper nigrum , so I ca n’t charge you if you ’re feeling worried about pass on it a endeavor even asa surge of food brandsadd it to their menus .
So let ’s get the head of the hr : Just how hot is Burger King ’s Ghost Pepper Whopper ? As a spicy food fanatic myself , I had to sleep with . I hop in the railcar and head straight to the skinny BK campaign - thru to discover the accuracy .
Edited - Courtesy of Burger King
How spicy is Burger King’s Ghost Pepper Whopper?
Let ’s start with the basics : What on the nose is on this thing , and which ingredients bring the high temperature ? The Ghost Pepper Whopper begins with a single standard flame - grill Whopper patty topped with bacon , crispy jalapeños , spicy queso sauce , and Ghost Pepper cheeseflower . convey it all together is a vivacious orange Whopper roll covered in mordant sesame source .
That ’s a whole cluster of ingredients , but it ’s three of them partnering to serve up Scovilles : the jalapeños , queso , and Ghost Pepper cheese . Collectively , they bring in a boring burn of heat that you do n’t pick up on immediately post - bite but lingers on your palate and conjointly increases as you continue exhaust .
The grade of heat also varies depending on how much queso any render insect bite features . My first bite was overtop by the smokiness of BK ’s key signature flaming - broiled patty , with a background of the bacon , but my second bite brought more heating as I encountered the queso , which seemed to be responsible for the majority of the sandwich ’s gaminess . To be true , the heat energy of the Ghost Pepper cheese was overshadow by the queso , and the jalapeños in the main made themselves bang via their crunchy texture rather than their flavor .
Joe Erbentraut/Thrillist
All of that is to say that , even as a naughty food enthusiast , I needed to take a couple of breakout to reset my palate and adulterate the spice with a sip of Sprite or a handful of fries . By the prison term I was done , I could by all odds feel the burn mark , though it was still a pretty realizable level of heat overall . This sandwich compact a true poke , but it ’s not overdoing it — you wo n’t be heading to the ER , but you also wo n’t be bored . It strikes an excellent middle earth that might serve as a bit of a disappointment forHot Oneswannabes but remains appealing to a comparatively broad compass of heat tolerance .
The Bun
Now that we got spice out of the way permit ’s touch on the other ingredients . The Ghost Pepper Whopper comes on a saturated orange bun generously dot with black sesame seminal fluid . The visual effect gives you all the Halloween feels as long as you do n’t think too long or hard about whatever intellectual nourishment dyestuff were used to make the bun so colorful . The roll ’s smack was passably bland , if slightly artificial - tasting ( probably due to the dyes ) and the grain was a chip drier than your typical beefburger bun . That aver , the roll ’s dispassionateness assist make it a solid stand for the the great unwashed of toppings decorate it and allowed the burger to be much less mussy than one might carry of something slather in queso .
The Patty
The meat itself on my burger was n’t especially memorable — not bad , but not great either , possibly a turn under - seasoned . When combined with the Roger Bacon , however , the natural smokiness of the flame - bake patty complement the heat coming from the queso and Ghost Pepper cheese very nicely , assault out a very solid tang profile overall . As a former vegetarian who typicallyprefers the Impossible Whopperto the original , I ca n’t say I feel like I ’m missing much by generally stay to the plant - base option .
Should you get it?
OK , that was a good deal of words . Is the Burger King Ghost Pepper Whopper in reality honest ? My determinate answer is yes . The heat was there , the flavor was satisfying , and you ’d be challenge to try and find a debauched food Warren E. Burger out there right now that has a standardized overall impingement . compare to an original Whopper , I did find myself missing the freshness of tomatoes and lettuce and the acid of pickle slice . I also still choose mayo as a burger ’s creamy component to this burger ’s queso . That say , I did n’t find the Ghost Pepper Whopper specially heavy or a grease dud like I reverence it might be . Overall , if you could do by the hotness , I ’d say it mostly live up to the ballyhoo .
