For Deeply Flavorful Burgers, Add A Dash Of This Liquid To Your Meat Mix

There are tons of ways to imbue your burgers with extra flavor, but a lot of these are labor intensive, time consuming, or a bit of both. Compound butter, for example, can make your burgers more flavorful and even juicier, but you have to, you know, compound it first. Bacon fat can give your burgers a tasty twist, too, but, once again, you have to prepare the rashers and strain their precious grease to begin with. Any ingredient that makes for better burgers with the mere flick of the wrist is always welcome. That ingredient is the Worcestershire sauce you might already have in your refrigerator.

Taste a drop of the beloved workhorse Worcestershire sauce on its own and you see why it's such a great addition to your burgers. It tastes meaty all on its own. That's umami: the savory sensation a lot of folks describe as salty or meaty. Worcestershire sauce, which gets a lot of those qualities from anchovies and plain ol' salt (but also contains a little molasses, garlic, onion, clove, and a whisper of chili pepper heat, among other notes), checks both of those boxes and then some.

Introducing liquid ingredients to almost anything can be a little tricky. Sure, you can tip a bit of Worcestershire sauce into a bloody Mary (which would be a great pairing for your next brunch barbecue), but you need to take a more studied approach when adding Worcestershire sauce to your burgers. Too much would weirdly thin your ground beef blend. About 1 tablespoon per pound of ground beef packs a nice amount of flavor without turning it into some kind of smoothie from protein-maxxing nightmares.

Over-mixing is also the enemy of burgers everywhere, so fold and massage the Worcestershire to incorporate. You should also rein in any redundant flavors. Consider reducing any other salt by at least half since the Worcestershire imparts plenty. If you're locally famous for your anchovy-packed patties, well, the sauce compensates for those, too. You can otherwise proceed as you normally would: by cooking to your preferred doneness, adding toppings, and, of course, eating your Worcestershire-upgraded burgers with a knife and fork.