Burger sauce can elevate your burger game by orders of magnitude. This is because there are only four elements to the perfect burger.
In no particular order, the first is the meat, which should be a 75/25 lean-to-fat mix. Trust me. Any more and it starts to lose the moisture, any less and the beef flavor starts to be diluted by the fat.
Then comes the bread bun. This is personal preference, but if you're choosing a brioche bun, you're wrong, and you need to take your milky, sweet, fragile bun choice away and go back to whichever playground you escaped from, you child. When in doubt, stick to the good old seeded white bun.
The third is the topping, which can range from something as simple as a slice of cheese to something as wild as mac and cheese. This is up to you and really, the only limit is your imagination and how wide you can open your mouth.
Finally, the burger sauce of choice. This element can make or break a burger, in my opinion. Get the wrong blend or pairing, and you've ruined the whole burger. But, get your burger sauce just right, and you can even go so far as to have no toppings at all. A truly great burger sauce is often the only extra you need.
Here are some relatively easy ones you can whip up. Many of them can be multi-purpose, so make extra and pour it over wings or have it with a cheese board.
Basic Burger Sauce
This is the one you can pull together anytime, anywhere, and it'll always work. This simple burger sauce is made with only a handful of ingredients. Most of them will already be in your cupboard too.
- Equal parts Mayo and Ketchup
- Garlic and Onion Powder
- Smoked or Regular Paprika
- Sweet Pickle Relish
Method
It's as easy as combining the ingredients in a bowl and giving it a mix. Experiment with the amounts and see where your preference is. If you are going to have pickles in your burger, maybe drop back on the relish a bit. If you want to spice it up a little, pop some Tabasco in there.
This burger sauce recipe is the foundation. Build on it as you will.
Big Mac Copycat Burger Sauce
The only reason the Big Mac is as popular as it is is because of its sauce. I know every single Big Mac takes a month from my life, but that burger sauce is just so damn good. You can easily make it yourself at home though. Your arteries will thank you.
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated onion
Method
There is nothing too crazy in the preparation of this legendary burger sauce. Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix it up. There you have it, the sauce that built an empire.
Blue Cheese Sauce
Blue cheese burger sauce isn't for everyone, but I love it. For me, it is best on a chicken burger or used as a dip for chicken wings. This burger sauce is a little thicker than one I would use on a dip. It should sit in your burger perfectly without making the bun too soggy and fragile.
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1Tbsp lemon juice
- ½ clove garlic
- ¼ of a rinsed shallot
- 1tsp salt
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/3 cups neutral oil
- 3.5 oz blue cheese crumbled
Method
First, begin by making the ranch sauce. Simply add all the ingredients except the blue cheese and oil to a tall container. But, bear in mind you will need to run an immersion blender in it without losing everything. Then, add the oil bit by bit as you blend it with the immersion blender.
This will eventually form a ranch dressing. You could stop here if you want this as a burger sauce, it is absolutely delicious. However, to make the blue cheese burger sauce, add the crumbled blue cheese to the mix as you continue to blend.
Habanero Bacon Jam
This is one of the more time-consuming burger sauce recipes on this list, but believe me, it's worth every second. The pairing of the sweet Fresno and Habanero chillis with the candied bacon is unmatched. This is not a burger sauce to take lightly though. It is seriously hot, it is sweet, and it is sticky.
If you want to tone it down a bit, substitute the habanero for jalapeños you wimp.
- 1 pack of smoked salted bacon
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 fresno chilis medium dice
- 2 Habanero peppers medium dice
- 1 small red bell pepper medium dice
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Method
Dice the bacon. I like to make mine around 1/4 inch, but larger is fine too. Just remember, it needs to sit inside your burger. Now chuck it all in a heavy bottom pan, and cook it over medium heat. As it fries off you'll be left with a whole pan of bacon fat.
Remove the bacon from the pan when it's nice and crispy. Leave about two tablespoons of the fat in the pan, it's good stuff. People who throw away good bacon grease go to hell. Reserve the rest for another use, like massage oil or something.
Now, using the bacon fat still in the pan, fry the diced onions until translucent. Then, add the bell peppers followed by the habaneros and fresno chillis. Once they have got to know each other for about 5 minutes, add the dry ingredients to the burger sauce.
Cook those for a minute or two and reintroduce that bacon to the pan. Stir it all together, and now add in your wets. The maple syrup and cider vinegar will bring it to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
Now, leave that beautiful habanero bacon burger sauce to cook on low for an hour and a half. Check it regularly and give it a stir to stop it from sticking. It will slowly turn into a jam-like consistency.
After about an hour and a half, you should check it by pulling your spoon through the bacon burger sauce. It will be thick, and you should be able to pull a channel through it, with the bottom of the pan visible. It will slowly return to the center. This is the ideal consistency.
Taste it for salt, add more as you see fit, and then remove it from the heat. Storing it in the fridge will thicken it up. Whether you want this for a cheese board, or as a wickedly powerful burger sauce, it will be right there. It will last 2-3 weeks in the fridge, and I actually find it gets better with age.
Peanut Butter Burger Sauce
Peanut butter on a burger I hear you say? Well, trust me on this one. Think of it more like a chicken satay sauce rather than peanut butter. Chicken satay is a dreamy Thai dish, so why not have it in a burger? Now, traditionally, I would have this burger sauce on a chicken burger, but, I have to say, it slaps on beef too.
This recipe adds a little heat and lime to the mix. If you're not one for the heat you can easily just scrap the chili flakes. But, if you're an absolute heat nut, chuck a whole bunch in. Burger sauce is made to be messed with.
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Soy Sauce
- Lime
Method
Like any good sauce, this takes little to no prep. Add everything but the lime juice to a pan on low heat and stir constantly. It will be runny at first, and then start to thicken. Once it reaches the desired consistency and the ingredients are combined, take it off the heat.
Simply add the juice of the lime, mix it up, and bam, a delicious peanut butter burger sauce. Trust me on this one, it's a surprise favorite.
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