Big Kahuna Burger
A Hawaiian-style cheeseburger with grilled pineapple and teriyaki glaze. The fictional takeaway burger central to one of Pulp Fiction's most quoted scenes.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total
- 35 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
That is a tasty burger," says Jules Winnfield, taking a bite of Brett's abandoned lunch during the apartment confrontation scene in Pulp Fiction (1994), one of the most quoted lines in a film full of them, all over a completely fictional fast food chain invented for the movie.
The chain's Hawaiian theming is the detail worth getting right at home: a beef patty glazed in sweet soy teriyaki, topped with cheese and grilled pineapple.
Part of our 40 famous movie foods list.
method
Mix the soy sauce and brown sugar together for a quick teriyaki glaze.
Shape the ground beef into 4 patties, season with salt and pepper.
Heat a grill or pan over medium-high heat. Grill the pineapple rings for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until caramelized. Set aside.
Cook the patties for 3 to 4 minutes per side, brushing with the teriyaki glaze in the last minute of each side, and add a slice of cheese to melt in the final minute.
Toast the burger buns.
Build each burger: bun base, lettuce, tomato, the glazed cheeseburger patty, grilled pineapple, a little more glaze, and the bun top.
Serve immediately, "a tasty burger," as Jules puts it.
chef's tips
- Big Kahuna Burger is a fictional fast food chain invented for Pulp Fiction (1994), and this burger is the one Brett is still eating when Jules and Vincent arrive for their famous apartment confrontation, with Jules sampling a bite and calling it "a tasty burger."
- The teriyaki glaze and grilled pineapple are what give this its Hawaiian theme, matching the chain's tropical branding in the film.
- Brush the glaze on toward the end of cooking rather than at the start; the sugar in it can burn if it's on the meat too long over high heat.
- Big Kahuna Burger has gone on to appear as a recurring fictional brand across several other Quentin Tarantino films, a small running joke for attentive viewers.