Burger wars: Cafe's insane burger topping as venues go head-to-head

Aussie cafe's adds unique ingredient to one of its burgers. Photo / Supplied

Aussies take their love of burgers very seriously.

So much so, there's now a competition to crown the best burger in the country – and cafes have stopped at nothing to create what they hope will earn them the title of Australia's 'best burger ever'.

There's a total of 17 burger joints who will battle it out for the 'LITT Burger of Origin' trophy, including Sydney's popular Bar Luca.

The city-based cafe has created a 'Smoke & Candy' burger – and if you think they added lollies to it, you're not entirely wrong.

It's definitely still a sweet addition, but this unique topping is called 'candied jalapeños'.

It's a caramelised sauced poured over the chilli pepper that gives the burger its "insane" flavour, co-owner Sarah Robbins explains.

The Bar Luca head chef who created the burger with her husband said she saw it on an American barbecue show and thought she had to make it for their entry burger.

Bar Luca's 'smoke & candy' burger features candied jalapeños, giving it a very sweet and spicy flavour. Photo / Supplied

"We've done candied bacon before but never candied jalapeños. I've not seen in done in an Aussie burger before," Robbins told news.com.au.

The burger has already clocked more than 500 'likes' and comments after Bar Luca shared the entry burger on Instagram.

"Oh boy! That thing looks incredible!" one person wrote.

"Oh this looks the goods!" added another.

Robbins said the candied jalapeños is made with white sugar and apple cider vinegar.

"You have to boil it until it caramelises and then pour it over the jalapeños," she said.

"I just pop the jalapeños in a bowl and pour the caramel over it and let it sit there for a day, so it absorbs it all."

Peanut Butter Jelly cafe in Manly created the 'Lamb Shank Redemption' burger for the national burger comp. Photo / Supplied

Robbins said customers are loving the sweet and spicy burger after adding it to their specials – it also includes a beef patty, American cheese, onion rings and smoked beef brisket.

Chief judge of the competition, Cal Stubbs, who is ranked Australia's No. 1 professional competitive eater, is currently touring the country judging the 17 competition burgers.

He will then pick one winner from each state who will advance to the grand final.

"These aren't your average run of the mill burgers. Each burger has reached limits common folk could only ever dream of eating," Stubbs said.

"I've travelled the world as a professional eater and can confidently say I've eaten as many burgers as any Aussie.

"I've been to nearly every one of these burger joints up for contention, so I know the calibre we are dealing with."

So far just the NSW finalists have been judged. This is Wing Mill's '2x2 Blue Cheese Crunch' entry. Photo / Supplied

Eat at Robs in Rozelle, entered this 'Oklahoma Smashed Fried Onion Cheeseburger'. Photo / Supplied