How to Season Burgers: The Best Flavors

One of the biggest confusions we see is about how to season burgers. Do you just use salt and pepper? Can you use other seasonings? When do I season the burger? Should I season before cooking or right before it goes in the pan or on the grill? Should I season burgers while they are cooking? It goes on and on! So what do you do?

So many thoughts and ideas. We are going to answer a lot of these questions. So read on!

What Seasoning Do You Put on Burgers?

You can never go wrong with the classic salt, preferably kosher, and pepper on your burger. Any lean-to-fat ratio of beef can use salt and pepper.

But if you are looking at how to season burgers and what are some of the best flavors, try some of these:

• Paprika – you can choose from sweet, regular, smoky, and hot. There is basically no taste to regular paprika and it is used mainly to add color to dishes. Sweet paprika has the taste of red peppers as it is made from the ground pod of the pepper. The hot has a spicier flavor as it is made of chili pepper. Smoked paprika gets its smoky flavor from exactly that – being smoked. It can have a hot or sweet flavor. These different types of paprika can add a completely different flavor to your burger. Use alone or with garlic and onion powder.

• Garlic Powder – if you are looking for a garlic taste, but not too powerful, try garlic powder. It has a sweeter taste and not as strong as fresh garlic. Garlic powder is actually dried out and ground from a clove. Since burgers are cooked to get that dark sear, garlic powder is great to use as it is less likely to burn like fresh garlic.

• Garlic Salt – if you are opting for something with both garlic and salt, this would be your choice. Garlic salt actually contains table salt at about a 3 to 1 ratio. So if you can’t go without salting your burger, try this route. You will get the saltiness and the added garlic flavor.

• Onion Powder – If you want the onion flavor, but don’t want the actual onion, try onion powder. Add a teaspoon per pound of ground beef as a starter and adjust to your taste.

• Cayenne Pepper – for more of a kick give this a try! Just be sure you are ready for hot and spicy. This also works to enhance other flavors. And keep in mind that this spice gets stronger as it cooks.

There are so many choices when looking at how to season your burgers. Much of it is your preference. Experiment – give different things a try – and be sure to let us know what you come up with!

When Should You Season Burgers During Cooking?

Do you season way before you put the burgers on the heat? Do you season right before cooking? Do you season only the outside or mix it in? These are just some of the questions that get asked.

We have found that the most common school of thought is to season just before putting the burgers in the skillet or on the grill. This is due to the salt drawing moisture out of the meat if you add the salt too soon.

But some say that salting the meat sooner creates a hydrating effect. And then there is the thought of mixing all of your spices completely into the meat before forming the patties.

According to Cooks Illustrated their test of adding salt before shaping the patties, then adding it about 30 minutes prior to cooking, and finally right before cooking resulted in the right before cooking method to produce the best burger.

So give these a try and see what you think. Also, if you are using other seasonings it will make a difference when adding. You will get a different result whether the spices are mixed in or added on top.

How To Season to Make Perfect Burgers?

How to season burgers is a question we hear quite often. Is it best to mix the seasonings inside the meat or just sprinkle on the outside? How do you add the seasonings to the burgers?

First, you can never go wrong with just salt and pepper. Salt is used to bring out the natural flavor of the meat. According to scienceabc.com high concentrations of salt improve the flavor of savory foods.

Using fresh herbs can truly make your burger stand out among the burger crowd. Get some fresh basil, thyme, or rosemary. Give them a fine chop. You can add these herbs to the meat before making the patties or you can sprinkle all over the prepared patties.

As mentioned previously, we believe that to salt and pepper just before cooking will yield the best burger. If you want to give other seasonings a try with your burger and you opt for sprinkling on the outside of the patty, be sure to pat them in as you will probably lose some of them in cooking.

We have found that mixing some dried spices into the meat can give it a completely different flavor and texture. So give some a try – experiment and you never know what you might find!

Just remember if you use fresh herbs and spices you won’t be able to keep them as long as dried. They have to be kept in the fridge and if properly handled, will last for a couple of weeks. Just be sure you check on how the herb you are using should be stored.

When determining how to season burgers, dried herbs and spices are easier to use and will last longer on the shelf. But when using dried, due to the concentration, you would need approximately 3 times less of a spice than if you were to use fresh.

Choose Your Seasonings

Salt and pepper are the go-to for seasoning a burger and you definitely can’t go wrong by only using them. But if you want a bit of a different taste or flavor, give another seasoning a try. If you don’t like adding different spices or seasonings to the meat, you may want to try making your toppings be the flavor additives. Creating different seasoned toppings such as Asian or Italian flavors will give you the taste you are looking for without changing the actual flavor of the meat.

If you decide to go with a mixture and incorporate it into your meat, be sure to just use the spices. Adding other ingredients, we believe, just makes it a meatloaf. We don’t want to lose that great burger goodness!

Let us know what you like to do to make your perfect burger. We love to hear from you!