America's 10 Favorite Fast-Food Burgers

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- While Memorial Day weekend is a traditional time for Americans to grill their own hamburgers and hot dogs, our collective appetite for fast-food burgers just continues to grow.

According to research firm NPD Group, Americans consumed a record nine billion burgers outside the home in 2014.

That hunger has led to winning results at firms such as Shake Shack (SHAK) - Get Report, whose shares are up a whopping 345% from its initial public offering price earlier this year, but much less so at stalwarts such as McDonald's (MCD) - Get Report, whose declining sales have led to a moribund share price over the last few years.

In honor of National Burger Month (yes, it's real), crowdsourcing ranking site Ranker.com determined "The Best Fast Food Burgers" in the country. Ranker's poll asked voters to pick their favorite from among 46 different burgers, with about 42,000 votes piling in to determine who was the king of the beef.

The overall big winner was independently owned Five Guys, which had two of its burgers appear in the top 3 and one of its burgers listed as a top choice in 30 out of 51 states. Overwhelming affinity for Five Guys, with its notoriously high-fat burgers, even surprised the folks at Ranker.

The top burger came from a California-based chain that's developed a cult-like following (its offering also packed the third-most calories among the top ten). 

Absent in the overall top 10 list was McDonald's, which must be especially painful given that rival Burger King's standard bearer, The Whopper, was ranked number five overall (Burger King is a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International (QSR) - Get Report . The Big Mac just missed the cut, coming in at number 11 on Ranker's list.  

Another conspicuous absence from the list was anything from upstart burger chain Shake Shack. The survey was national, however, and with only 43 U.S. restaurants and most of them in New YorkCity, Shake Shack likely still isn't well-enough known across the country to have garnered enough votes to do well. Its signature ShackBurger, a cheeseburger topped with a distinctive ShackSauce, clocked in at number 23 on the list.  

TheStreet takes a look at the top 10 burgers that made the cut.

#10

Burger Name: Fatburger Burger

Signature Ingredient: 100% pure lean beef

State Where It's Most Popular: California

Calories: 400

Total Fat: 21g

Cholesterol: 55mg

Sodium: 1,080mg

#9

Burger Name: Steak 'n Shake Double 'n Cheese Steakburger

Signature Ingredient: Two hot off the grill steakburgers

States Where It's Most Popular:Missouri, North Dakota

Calories: 440

Fat: 25g

Cholesterol: 70mg

Sodium: 590mg

#8

Burger Name: Wendy's 1/4 LB Single

Signature Ingredient: 100% North American ground beef

State Where It's Most Popular: Not available

Calories: 579

Fat: 31g

Cholesterol: 100mg

Sodium: 1,220mg

#7

Burger Name: Fuddruckers The Original Fudds

Signature ingredient: Sesame-topped, homemade bun

State Where It's Most Popular: Not available

Calories: 840

Fat: 21g

Cholesterol: 220mg

Sodium: 232mg

#6

Burger Name: Wendy's Baconator

Signature Ingredient: Fresh-cooked applewood smoked bacon

State Where It's Most Popular: Not available

Calories: 939

Fat: 56g

Cholesterol: 205mg

Sodium: 1,890mg

#5

Burger Name: Burger King Whopper

Signature ingredient: Flame-grilled beef

States Where It's Most Popular:Alaska, New Mexico, and South Dakota

Calories: 312

Fat: 44g

Cholesterol: 85mg

Sodium: 1,260mg

#4

Burger Name: Whataburger Original Whataburger

Signature Ingredients: Fresh, never frozen, 100% pure American beef topped with mustard

States Where It's Most Popular: Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas

Calories: 640

Fat: 30g

Cholesterol: 45mg

Sodium: 1,140mg

#3

Burger Name: Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger

Signature Ingredient: Fresh ground beef

States Where It's Most Popular: Florida, Pennsylvania, and New York

Calories: 317

Fat: 62g

Cholesterol: 180mg

Sodium: 1,310mg

#2

Burger Name: Five Guys Hamburger

Signature Ingredient: Fresh ground beef

State Where It's Most Popular:New Jersey, Alabama, and Kentucky

Calories: 265

Fat: 43g

Cholesterol: 125mg

Sodium: 430mg

#1

Burger Name: In-N-Out Burger Double Double

Signature ingredient: Beef sourced from premium cattle

State Where It's Most Popular: California, Washington, and Arizona

Calories: 670

Fat: 41g

Cholesterol: 120mg

Sodium: 140mg

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.