Burger That For A Laugh: In-N-Out, Valencia Style, With Big Johnson’s Burger Joint

Big Johnson’s Burger Joint was born from nostalgia. Shawn Johnson moved to Valencia one year ago from California. A veterinarian, one of the surprising things he missed was the perfect hamburger. But, he explains to Eugene Costello, he has now rectified that… and a special pop-up on the beach at Malvarrosa for New Year’s Eve for ‘Valencia Life’ readers, will all profits going to Valencia Life’s go-to charity Culturas Unidas. Please spread the word! 

Shawn Johnson, who turned 50 this year in Valencia, was living in California until December 2020, just north of San Francisco. He was working as a veterinarian at the Marine Mammals Rehabilitation Center, as was his wife, Claire, when they decided to give life overseas a chance and moved lock, stock and barrel to Valencia by taking a year’s sabbatical from work. They arrived with their son, Jack, five.

They left their jobs, sold most of their stuff and came here on a one-year visa. Now they want to stay here and are looking to extend their time to stay indefinitely.

Valencia, and this part of  Spain, says Shawn, is very similar to California in terms of climate and terrain. “All the food that is grown here is familiar to us from back home, from oranges to artichokes and avocados,” he explains. “So the weather is familiar, and my son is doing really well in public school here, learning Spanish and Valenciano, so now we are looking to stay.”  

They put Jack into language camps when they arrived, wisely, “and now he is pretty much fluent,” says Shawn. 

They live in Malvarrosa, near the beach.

California Dreaming

Big Johnson’s Burger Joint came about through nostalgia, Shawn tells me.

“I was really craving California-style burger joints, and the local burgers in Spain are just not the same. Here, the burger meat is fattier – much fattier – and often made of minced pork and beef. In California, we have a chain called In-N-Out Burger, predominantly in California and the Southwest.

It is, he tells me, the epitome of the perfect burger.

“They have perfected the formula for a great tasting burger,” he says. “They have a simple menu, everything is locally sourced and the end result is perfection.”

He goes on, “They also have a secret menu that allows you to modify your burger as you wish, and the memories it brings back are intense.”

So how did he get from nostalgia to creating his own version?

“One of the great challenges,” he tells me, “was sourcing the meat. One of the main things is that if you buy mince in a supermarket, it is already mixed with beef, pork and sometimes soy protein.

“So the first challenge was sourcing freshly ground beef without really speaking the language. Then I hit upon the idea of going to a local carnicería and asking them to grind meat for me. I use a local place, I researched the names of the different cuts in Spanish and wrote down a script because they don’t speak English, and it was a fun experience, I have to tell you.

They finally figured it out, though, and now when he goes in, he says, they know exactly what he wants. 100% ground chuck is aguja, he now knows – and the quality is “just excellent”, he says.

Big Johnson’s Burger Joint is born

That was the biggest step, says Shawn, but the other problem he had sourcing was a decent dill pickle.

“The Spanish love pickle,” he says, “but the problem is that they add sugar so it is too sweet. I started by going to Russian suppliers who have pickles without sugar, which are pretty good, but lack the freshness and crispness of the American-style pickle.”

So he spent the summer picking his own cucumbers with garlic, dill, salt and pepper and now has enough, touchingly using his grandmother’s recipe. Having grown up on a farm in Colorado, sourcing and reducing food miles is important.

And the final part of the jigsaw was the sauce – or “spread” as it is called back home – so he experimented and has now perfected a “spread” of which In-N-Out would be envious. It’s in that style, but with homemade mayonnaise, similar  to Thousand Island dressing – mayo, ketchup, sweet relish and a twang of vinegar and sugar.

And with lettuce and tomato sourced from La Huerta – the farmland around the city – Shawn is now proud that, after a long process of sourcing and trial-and-error, he has perfected the offer.

Meat-free options too

And vegans and vegetarians will be pleased to know that they also have perfect meat-free options.

They use Heura burgers, with vegan mayo, and, he confides, are “as good as Beyond Burgers”.  

Tomorrow, they are ready to launch and test the product at a pop-up in Cabanyal. There will be graffiti exercises, music and – of course – burgers galore.

Come down, if you have burger all else to do. You will certainly not be disappointed.

• They say: We are super excited to be coming back for our third and final pop up of 2021. This time we’ll be providing BJ’s on the beach at the furthest end of Playa Patacona (where Chiringuito El Ocho is during the summer) and will be welcoming in 2022 on Australian time (2pm our time). We will also be donating all profits to https://www.culturasunidas.org/. We hope to see you there https://www.facebook.com/events/969904197262556