Ketchup Leather Will Save Burgers From Sogginess

Ketchup is amongst the most crucial of burger condiments, but to get enough of its salty, tomatoey goodness can take a pretty generous blob. Instead of sogging down your burger bun or soaking the front of your shirt, chef Ernesto Uchimura of Plan Check restaurant in Los Angeles has invented "ketchup leather" for burgers that takes this condiment to a whole new level.

Featured in a drool-worthy video produced by food blog Food Steez (via the Daily Mail), ketchup leather is created by dehydrating ketchup (seasoned with the usual additions) poured over sheets of parchment paper on baking trays. The result is a kind of savory fruit leather with all sorts of culinary promise.

Allegedly, the ketchup leather sort of melts when it's applied to a hot burger, although I tragically haven't had the pleasure of trying it myself. If Plan Check's ketchup leather-laden burgers are half as good as those of chef Uchimura's former burger restaurant employer, Umami Burger, then my hopes are very high indeed. Although soggy burgers aren't the kind of problem that many people are likely to lose sleep over or anything, trying old stuff a new way is usually fun, at least for the novelty value, and your regular old ketchup will still be there if you want it back.

Ketchup leather would actually be pretty easy to make at home, especially if you have a dehydrator for making jerky like I do (which fans warm air over drying trays, with no risk of burning their contents). I imagine it would go well on some other dishes, too — you could have an unsoggy tomato-accented grilled cheese, or a more sophisticated egg sandwich. Happy ketchuping!

Image: Steven Depolo/Flickr; Giphy