We've gone over how to grill the perfect burger, but now it's time to delve into the pièce de résistance of hamburgers: the seasoning. it's only natural to have people left and right tell you how to season burgers properly and we all know that neighbor down the street has a recipe you just have to try. But, as opposed to bombarding yourself with dozens of recipes, take a look at some of the best ways to season a burger and make it your own from there.
Tips For Proper Seasoning
How you choose to flavor your hamburgers really comes down to you and your personal tastes, but there are a few things you should keep in mind before diving in.
- Don't salt your ground beef before you make them into patties. Form the beef first and then salt them. The reason why you want to do this is that salt tends to suck out all the moisture and flavor from ground beef if it's salted too early.
- If you're going to salt your patties, you should try substituting table salt for kosher salt. Kosher salt's grains are thicker than regular salt, which will allow for an even distribution of seasoning.
- You don't need to massage the seasoning into the beef. Just sprinkle your mixture onto the patty and get grillin'.
Hamburger Seasoning Recipe
Here's a seasoning recipe we personally like to revisit.
What You'll Need
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
Steps:
- Mix all of your seasonings into a bowl and mix until well-stirred.
- Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the mixture onto your patties as you grill them. (You can also mix 2 teaspoons of the mixture in with your ground beef before you form them into patties. Just remember to add the salt last!)
There are obviously other things that you can add to your patties depending on your personal tastes. When it comes to how to season burgers, you're in charge of what you add to your ground beef. Though, if you're looking for some additional inspirational flavors, some people swear by Worcestershire sauce, while others like to add in some parsley or even freshly chopped onions as opposed to onion powder.
While this is the recipe we like to follow the most, there are lots of ways you can experiment in the kitchen to make those burgers your own!