Top 10 Beef Burger Sauces

June 30th, 2010

You don’t have to rely on Supermarket relishes and sauces to add some spice to your beef burgers this summer. In the following guide, we will show you how it is possible to recreate all your classic favourites – right from your own kitchen – and guarantee that your guests are asking for the recipe…

1. Zahtar – this exotic blend can be used on a variety of different meats. From pork ribs to chicken fillets, Australian fillets to your average 4oz. beef burger, Zahtar only takes 5 minutes to create.Ingredients: 1tbsp sumac, 1tbsp roasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp ground thyme.Instructions: grind each of these ingredients together using a pestle and mortar until fine, and store somewhere cool until ready for use.
2. Classic BBQ Sauce – you don’t have to buy HP or Heinz BBQ sauce to experience this smoky flavour.Ingredients: 4.5kg ripe tomatoes (cored, peeled and chopped), 2 large onions (diced), 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1/8 red pepper (crushed), 1tbsp celery seed, 1 ½ cup brown sugar, 1tbsp dry mustard, 2tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp mace, 1tsp ginger, 1tsp cinnamon, 1 cup vinegar, 3tbsp lemon.Instructions: blend the tomatoes, onions, garlic, red pepper and celery together in a large saucepan and simmer on a medium flame for 30 minutes. Once soft, press this mixture through a fine sieve and remove any seeds. Return to your saucepan and add the remaining ingredients. Reduce your hob flame to a lower setting and allow the mixture to thicken for a further 30 minutes, stirring continually. Serve into jars when ready and secure for storage. This sauce should create at least 3 pints of BBQ sauce.
3. BBQ Marinade – you don’t always have to add sauce to your beef burger for it to be effective, as this simple marinade clearly proves.Ingredients: 1 small onion (diced), 5 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp vinegar, ½ tsp black pepper, 1-2tsp liquid smoke.Instructions: depending on how smoky you want your marinade to be, we recommend you use only 1tsp of liquid smoke to create a mild taste. Using a saucepan, mix all these ingredients together and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Once cooked, take your beef burger and marinade, and pour into a plastic bag. Seal and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the marinade to soak into the meat.
4. The Mediterranean Burger – this simple marinade and topping option is quick and easy to implement.Ingredients: 1tbsp hot paprika, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1tbsp cumin, 1tbsp oregano leaves, 1 tbsp mint leaves.Instructions: using a pestle and mortar grind the paprika, garlic, cumin, oregano leave and mint leaves. Take your beef burger and gently rub this powder into the surface and pop onto the grill.
5. Brie Burger – swap your cheddar for this exciting topping that is quick, easy and simple to prepare within 5 minutes.Ingredients: 2 granny smith apples, 100g herb crusted brieInstructions: cut your apples into thin slices and place to the side ready for cooking. Slice your brie into thin slices and warm for a minute over the heat of your BBQ grill (be careful to not let your brie melt). Remove from heat and place a slice of brie over each apple slice. Add to your burger.
6. Cajun Burger – Cajun is not limited to just chicken. This special Cajun sauce goes perfectly with beef too.Ingredients: 2tbsp Cajun spice, 50g spiced jalapeno cheese, 10g chilli mayonnaise, 2tbsp pico de gallo sauce.Instructions: in a dish blend the Cajun spice, chilli mayonnaise and pico de gallo together until it forms an even paste. Once your beef burger is cooked, add this Cajun sauce and top with a slice of spiced jalapeno cheese.
7. Italian Burger - best served on focaccia bread, the Italian Burger is ideal for those who aren’t afraid of a little spice.Ingredients: 1 roasted red bell pepper, 2 tbsp red pesto, 2 slices of mozzarella cheese.Instructions: slice your red bell pepper into even slices and pop onto your BBQ until crispy. Add to your beef burger and layer between your red pesto and 2 slices of mozzarella cheese.
8. Corn Burger – this unusual BBQ sauce takes only a few minutes to create but can prove to be a very aromatic side to your burger.Ingredients: ½ red pepper, 10g corn, 1 tbsp white vinegar, 1tbsp ground red pepper, pinch of salt, ¼ green onions.Instructions: dice your red pepper and green onion into cubes before blending with the corn, white vinegar, ground red pepper and salt. Stir until you form paste.
9. Hawaiian Supreme – this interesting BBQ sauce works fantastically as a beef burger filler.Ingredients: ¼ pineapple, 1 candied apple, 2tbsp sweet and sour sauce.Instructions: cut your pineapple into cubes, before crushing with a blender. If you haven’t got a blender, put the pineapple into a glass bowl and using a fork mash the cubes until they form a pulp. Mix with the sweet and sour sauce. Next take your candied apple and cut it into thin slices. Before you cook your burger, slice into it horizontally and place 2 teaspoons full inside. Press to seal, and then cook.
10. Cowboy Burger – catch a hint of the Wild West with this traditional beef burger topping.Ingredients: 30g mushrooms, ¼ onion, 2 green rindless bacon slices, 2 slices Monterey Jack cheese.Instructions: use your BBQ to grill your bacon slices for 2 minutes (or until crisp). Slice your mushrooms and onion into thin slices and spread over your burger. Top with your bacon slices and finish with 2 slices of Monterey Jack cheese.

4 Responses to “Top 10 Beef Burger Sauces”

1. Richard says:

   February 24, 2012 at 6:19 pm

   There was also a Carter Burger in the days that Jimmy Carter was US President. A regular burger with peanut butter spread on the bun and crispy lettuce between the bun and the burger. Simple but tasty.

   Reply
2. Richard says:

   February 24, 2012 at 6:23 pm

   This inspired me to look to see if you had an article on accompaniments to sausages. While Tomato Ketchup (sometimes known as Tomato Catsup in the US) and Mustard are the regular mainstays in the UK, in Germany you can also get a really tasty Curry Ketchup (basically a Tomato Ketchup with a curry flavour) and it is just so perfect a combination with sausages.

   Reply
3. Richard says:

   February 24, 2012 at 6:30 pm

   For both Beef Burgers and Steak Burgers, a good dollup of horseradish sauce is just perfect.

   Reply
4. Jay says:

   October 13, 2012 at 5:39 pm

   I’m sorry, but the ultimate sauce is ‘Awesomesauce’.

   Great on burgers for a slightly tangy sauce (offsets the natural fat in burgers perfectly). The real magic happens when you heat the Awesomesauce which causes the sugar in the sauce to caramelise and makes it sweeter (this is my secret when I do my BBQ Ribs)

   Reply

Tags: beef burger, beef recipes, beef sauce recipes, steak sauce recipes
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