For Smoky Burgers Without The Grill, Add A Half Cup Of This To Your Meat

Grilling is absolutely delicious, but let's be real, it can be a bit of a pain. You need the weather to cooperate so you're not stuck outside in the rain, make sure you have enough propane or charcoal, and deal with the cleanup process (you can even use half an onion to clean your grill for super cheap). If you've ever wanted to create smoky, grill-like flavors without actually firing up your grill, you're not alone — and we've got a solution. Adding barbecue sauce to your burger mix can help you create a grill-style flavor, even if you're cooking on a skillet instead of in the great outdoors.

Per barbecue sauce giant Sweet Baby Ray's, adding some barbecue sauce to your burger mix is a simple way to achieve that sweet, smoky, slightly spicy flavor. Sweet Baby Ray's recommends combining half a cup of barbecue sauce with a pound and a half of meat. And while they've got a ton of various sauces, we rank the original as the top Sweet Baby Ray's flavor, no question. You won't just get great flavor when you mix barbecue sauce in from the get-go — you'll also get a binding agent that can help to hold your burgers together. The company also recommends adding a bit more barbecue sauce to your burgers just before they're done cooking to boost both flavor and color.

Adding barbecue sauce to your burger mix is a great way to infuse extra flavor and moisture, but there are a few things to keep in mind to get the best results. First, make sure you've got your ratios right. As we mentioned, half a cup of barbecue sauce works for about a pound and a half of meat, though you may need to adjust depending on how much you're using. If you overdo it, you might have trouble getting your burgers to stick together as cohesive patties. The right type of beef matters, too. Chefs generally recommend using ground beef with at least 20% fat content for juicier burgers. 

If you want to toss your barbecue-sauce-infused burgers onto the grill to double up on smoky flavor, you'll want to cook low and slow. The sugar in the barbecue sauce can burn quickly, so you'll want to keep your grill's temperature around 300 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that you don't end up with charred, burnt sugar bits on the surface of your burgers. If you're cooking indoors, the same idea applies — take your time, cook low and slow, and your barbecue burgers will be well worth the extra effort.