The Secret Ingredient I Always Add to My Burgers—It’s So Delicious

Some evenings when I haven’t decided what to cook for the family yet and it’s already 5 p.m., I make burgers. A pound of ground beef feeds my family of four, and it only takes minutes to prepare the ingredients.

For the juiciest burgers, I add a rich ingredient that probably has a permanent spot in your fridge: butter. And the best part about this trick? You can incorporate it into your favorite burger recipe. 

Why Is Butter So Good In a Burger?

First, let’s dive into a little pool of food science. I add melted butter to my burger patties because it coats the beef with fat, keeping the meat moist and juicy. On a hot grill or in a frying pan (that’s how I cook my burgers), the milk solids in the butter brown, thanks to the Maillard reaction. Basically, heat transforms the sugars and proteins in the butter, adding a savory, subtly sweet, caramelized flavor.  

How To Add Butter to Your Burgers

For every pound of ground beef, add 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of butter. But don’t just mash chunks of the cold stuff into the meat. First, melt the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds, and let it cool slightly. Then mix it into the ground beef, along with any other seasonings you like, with a fork and a light hand. The goal is to thoroughly distribute the melted butter and seasonings without overworking the meat, which can compact it. Tough burger patties are the last thing you want.

If you’re wondering what type of butter to add, I recommend unsalted butter so you can control the amount of seasoning. Whichever brand you already have in your fridge is fine. Lately, I’ve been baking a lot with Plugrà butter, so I use that when I cook, too. 

Butter has a low smoke point, making it prone to burning, especially when exposed to intense heat on the grill. Flare-ups are bound to happen when fat drips onto the hot coals, and we’re adding more fat to these patties here with the butter. To avoid flare-ups, start the patties on the hot side of the grill and finish them in a cooler zone. It’s also a good idea to chill the patties for about half an hour before grilling them to keep the fat from rendering too quickly.

Finally, for everyday burgers like the ones I make, you can just stick with a frying pan where you’ll have more control over the heat and can easily adjust it if things get a bit too sizzly. 

Alternatives to Butter In Your Burger

If butter feels too rich for you to add to your burgers, there are substitutions. For example, Ina Garten adds olive oil to her patties. Sometimes I use melted ghee or clarified butter, as they have higher smoke points than butter. If you’re a beginner to ghee, you can’t go wrong with my favorite store-bought ghee brand, 4th and Heart Ghee, which comes in sticks and jarred form. 

But honestly, when it comes to quick, easy, juicy, and flavorful burgers, butter is a perfect choice. It’s simple, but it makes all the difference.