Beer Battered and Booze-Soaked: Paradise Valley Burger Co. Goes All In
“You’re about to make a grown man cry,” Guy Fieri told chef and owner Brett Shapiro after biting into the Beer Battered Burger at Paradise Valley Burger Co. in Phoenix, Arizona. When Guy gets emotional over a burger, you know something special is happening in that kitchen.
This joint, which Shapiro opened in 2011, isn’t just serving burgers—it’s reinventing them. As one customer put it, “the creativity and craftsmanship that goes into making their burgers, I couldn’t even duplicate if my life depended on it.” Guy came to check out a place where burgers get cooked in booze, deep fried, and topped with everything from eggs to vodka cream sauces.
The Booze Burger: Three Food Groups in One
The star of this segment was the Beer Battered Burger with Green Chili Bacon Vodka Cream Sauce. Yes, that’s vodka, whiskey, and beer all making appearances in a single dish. As Guy called them: “three food groups.”
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The process starts with rendering down bacon in olive oil, then adding sliced red onion, jalapeños (which Guy joked are “like an Arizona breath mint”), and garlic. Once that’s sweated down, in goes the vodka, followed by heavy cream. The green chilies are roasted, seeded, stemmed, and skinned before getting blended in with a bunch of fresh cilantro.
But the real kicker? Those pickled Fresno chilies. Shapiro pickles them in a mixture with liquid smoke whiskey for two days. When Guy asked what makes the burger, one diner didn’t hesitate: “Hands down, the fresh no chili.”
For the patties themselves, Shapiro mixes up a classic beer batter using amber beer, flour, salt, and pepper. The seasoned patties get dipped and dropped in the deep fryer for about two and a half minutes. The result had Guy praising the combination: “You got all kinds of great crunch, salt, a little spice, gummy in there.”
The Country Fried Burger: Maximizing the Char
Guy also dove into the Country Fried Burger, featuring deep fried patties topped with green chili bacon cream sauce. Shapiro’s technique here is all about precision—he uses two-ounce patties specifically to maximize char on each burger. “That’s my sweet spot right there,” he explained.
The patties get a spritz of heavy cream from a mister bottle (Guy called it “suntan lotion”), then flour before hitting the fryer. Meanwhile, the gravy builds from olive oil, diced red onion, sliced jalapeños, garlic, salt and pepper, then heavy cream that simmers down for 15-20 minutes until reduced by half. Fresh thyme goes in before it gets hit with an immersion blender.
Even the buns get special treatment—Shapiro squares off round brioche buns so they make full contact with the flat top. “You want to toast the whole caboodle,” he said. A bed of lettuce protects the brioche from getting soggy.
Tips from the Paradise Valley Kitchen
Maximize your char: Use smaller patties (two ounces each) to get more crust surface area on every bite.
Protect your bun: Start with lettuce on the bottom to keep the brioche from getting soggy under heavy sauces.
Give pickles time: Those whiskey-soaked Fresno chilies need a full two days to develop their flavor.
If you’re craving more of Guy’s burger adventures or want to explore spots serving creative takes like Danger Dogs or hearty plates of Texas Brisket, check out our full restaurant directory to find Triple D locations near you.