“They’re made for us by pretzel experts out of Wisconsin, who know just the right ratio of ingredients needed to get that rich, mahogany color, delightfully chewy consistency, and malty flavor in every bite. We find that their flavor profile and texture make them a real boon to burgers, and many other styles of sandwich, as well” – Trader Joe’s
I saw these Trader Joe’s PRETZEL BUNS in the bakery section about a week ago. They looked just perfect for a hamburger. I wondered if they would be any good for a burger. Here’s my honest review.
Wow, these are So Good. They were as good as I could have hoped for. My wife really like them too. These buns are just perfect for burgers as well as to make sandwiches with. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to try them with a burger. Somewhere between a pretzel and bun, but leaning way more to the bun side. Don’t worry they’re not pretzels. They’re buns with a hint of pretzels. They are soft but not too soft. They have just the right texture, soft but slightly chewy, especially on the dark exterior. They are just a little bit denser than a regular hamburger bun .
I lightly toasted them for my burgers.
PRETZEL BUNS are $2.99 (4 buns) I would buy these again.
LIMITED (AVAILABLE DURING SUMMER / grilling season)
“Made for us by an expert supplier in Vietnam, each box contains eight miniature, clamshell-style Bao laden with a well-seasoned shrimp patty, as well as a sweet and sticky lemongrass, lime, and chili sauce for dipping.”
There are a fairly New Item in the Asian frozen section at Trader Joe’s that they introduced a short while back. These are “mini bao”, soft and fluffy bao buns with a shrimp patty inside, that comes with a some dipping sauce. They’re a product of Vietnam, where a lot of shrimp are produced.
I got them to try out and review. Each little mini bun is just a couple of bites. The patty inside is made of shrimp, cornstarch as a binder (its actually the second ingredient!) plus scallions, lemon grass, garlic….
“Heating Instructions (Steamer) Remove frozen bao from packaging and put in a steamer or double boiler. Steam for 6-8 minutes until heated through. Let rest for one minute.” (you can microwave these too)
COOKING: Bao are traditionally steamed so that’s what I tried using a metal steamer basket and a pot with a cover.
The two times I cooked these I had a problem with the bottoms of the soft buns sticking to the steamer. The buns are so soft and the bottom had a tendency to stick to my basket. They got a bit stuck on. I tried to lift one gently and carefully and not rip it, but some of the bottom bun was just stuck and ripped. Oh well. The second time I even tried the traditional method for making dimsum and buns where you brush a little oil on the steamer. The sticking was a little better that time, however they still got a little bit stuck and ripped on me.
So if I made them again I would try either brushing more oil on the steamer basket, or putting them on something like a lettuce leaf or parchment or oiled tin foil, very traditional with bao or soft dim sum doughs. So just FYI. Maybe this will not be an issue using a microwave? I didn’t try that method.
How do these taste? Pretty good. The little bao buns are fluffy and soft and a little chewy. The shrimp patties are also soft and had a pretty nice taste, where you can taste that they are made with shrimp. The dipping sauce that comes with these has lemon grass and ginger and is a pretty nice match flavor-wise. Naturally you could also add something to their sauce (like Chili Crunch or LaoGanMa for example) A squeeze of fresh lime or lemon would not be amiss. I also tried some SWEET CHILI SAUCE and that went well with these and was good mixing their sauce with that.
TIP: As these are just soft, you need to add a little bit of veggie for texture. As per the “serving suggestion” on the package which says, “top with julienned cucumbers, carrots and cilantro”. You have to add a few veggies for the contrast in texture with the soft bun. Even a few slivers of cukes, carrots, or scallions will make these taste way better.
Cilantro? If you are a fan of cilantro that would be good (people seems to either love or hate cilantro. I love it).
I was able to make these into dinner for two with some other things. The two of us ate 4 buns each with fried rice and a little salad which proved satisfying. So either think of these as a snack or appetizer or you can make them into a dinner by adding something substantial along with them.
SHRIMP HACK? I did have one idea if you really want to improve these. Add shrimp! My hack with these if I make them again would be to add a cooked shrimp, butterflied and put that on top of the shrimp patty. Drizzle with sauce. I think that would make these outstanding.
Find these in the Frozen Asian section at Trader Joe’s. $4.99 for 8 mini buns (10.5 oz.)
Just in time for Memorial Day….I got some Trader Joe’s MINI HAMBURGER BUNS.
I love these. If you haven’t seen these before, they are just thing to make mini-hambugers or “sliders”.
Theses buns are very soft, eggy, yummy small buns, coated with sesame seeds on the top. They are the perfect size for making mini-burgers, which I prefer actually. Say 2-3 oz of meat in a mini burger / slider? You can eat one, maybe 2 of them.
These toast up very nicely. If you don’t want them toasted I would at least warm them a bit before serving, maybe 5 minutes in the oven/toaster oven.
They’re not only good for burgers but also for making any kind of small sandwiches of course! Ham and cheese, melted cheese, turkey, peanut butter and jelly… just about anything. Use your imagination. Or you could just serve them as dinner rolls. Anyhow, they’re good. A package of TJ’s Mini Hamburger Buns (8 buns) goes for $1.69. You can’t beat that.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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