Hamburger and Hotdog unite to create the Hamdog... and it could be coming to the UK

Australian Inventor says launch has been a major success and is now looking to scale up production.

An Australian entrepreneur has secured a patent on a uniquely-shaped burger-hotdog hybrid, and is now bidding to make a success of the idea.

The unholy union between the world’s two best loved meat and bread-based fast food items was dreamt up by inventive Antipodean, Mark Murray.

The Aussie obtained intellectual property rights to the oddly-formed meal in the US in 2009 but, much like Charles Darwin with the theory of natural selection, kept his idea secret for many years, fearing the Pandora’s box he could unleash on the world.

A further stumbling block emerged when Murray inexplicably found himself unable to gather the investment he needed to give the Hamdog the global exposure it deserves.

After an unsuccessful 2015 appearance on Shark Attack, the Australian equivalent of Dragon’s Den, Murray doggedly pursued his meaty dream and decided to go it alone.

His determination has now paid off as the Hamdog has now become reality after a successful launch in July. “Everyone told me it wasn’t possible.” Mr Murray, from Western Australia, told News.com.au.

“Even [Shark Tank judge] Janine Allis told me that it was impossible to patent. She’ll be eating her words now,” Mr Murray said.

So what is the Hamdog? It consists of the traditional circular beef mince patty between two layers of bread, typically in the form of a sesame seed bun. But that is where the parallels with a normal burger end.

The Hamdog is cut straight down the middle into two equal semi-circles, allowing the frankfurter to slip neatly between. The bun itself, rather than being circular, is made in a special mould which gives it a distinctive shape akin to a flying saucer or, form some angles, a Viking horned helmet.

The Hamdog’s ingredients are local to his native Perth. “The only thing that’s not from Western Australia are the pickles,” Murray said.

The businessman admitted he was having trouble scaling up his business in order to cater to the mass market. “At the moment there is a fair bit of labour involved in making the buns because they’re made by people, not machines, he said. We’re still developing a way to semi automate production.”

“We launched our marquee two months ago and we had people come from everywhere just to experience the Hamdog. At one stage the crew were knocking out about one every 15 seconds. It was amazing,” he said.

Reminiscing about how he first germinated his idea, the entrepreneur told CNBC: “I had the idea on holiday when I was leaving a bar in Nashville. I grabbed a burger and a hot dog as I was really hungry. I was sitting in the car eating them both at the same time and my wife was looking at me like I was an idiot.”