Burger seasoning

Grilling is something that consistently helps me when I'm feeling bummed out, so I've been doing a bit more of it during the pandemic. I've also recently made changes to my hamburger flavoring. Here's what goes into my burgers, besides ground beef.

Long ago, my friend Dan recommended I put paprika on burgers. Paprika has a taste that I struggle to describe. Kinda punchy, maybe a tiny bit bitter? It really works, though.

Also long ago, but some time after the paprika an essayist wrote about meeting neighbors as a kid in the '70s that were the first people he met that cooked in order to make things taste good, not just to have something to eat. The striking part to me was that they put lots of salt on their burgers. So, I started putting lots of salt on, and it's worked. I'd say roughly a palmful on each side of each burger. It does not just taste salty, though it also does that. It really brings out the beef flavor.

Just a couple weeks ago, I started Worcestershire sauce on the burgers. We keep it around mostly for making Chex Mix, but it is actually meant for meat. I haven't done a blind taste test, I feel it adds to the depth of flavor. Perhaps coincidentally, my kid likes burgers more than ever.

So, this isn't a definitive finding. It may someday be reversed, but I'm mostly confident in it standing up to the test of time.

#burger #cooking