It's Unreal How Much Powerhouse Flavor Only One Tiny Squeeze Of This Ingredient Gives Burgers

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When made well, there isn't much that can stand up to a burger. With a good, meaty patty, a soft bun, and a careful selection of toppings, a burger can fit right in anywhere, from a fancy downtown bistro to a roadside greasy spoon. Given the near-universal love for them, savvy chefs have come up with countless single-ingredient burger upgrades — but topping a burger with green chiles or cooking the patty in mustard is, frankly, old news at this point. If you really want to take your hamburger game to the next level, you need to try something a little bit more out there: anchovy paste.

Anchovy paste is exactly what it sounds like: ground up cured anchovies (the same sort that you get out of a can) sometimes with additional oil, salt, and other seasonings. It comes in a convenient tube, like this Cento Anchovy Paste, and even if these salty fish aren't your typical go-to, this burger-upgrade is going to change that.

If you haven't put your eyebrows down since the first paragraph, we totally get it. The idea of mixing a paste made from ground fish into your favorite burger recipe sounds a bit wild. However, it's probably not as wild as you think. The flavor of anchovy paste is more than just salt and fish; it also delivers is a massive hit of umami — and every burger could use a bit more of that.

These days, you can find folks advocating all sorts of different ways to enhance the umami in your burgers. You can add mushrooms to the burger mixture, for example, or mix in a bit of soy, Worcestershire, or straight up MSG. Upping the umami really does make a burger that much better — and anchovy paste is a quick and convenient way to get that job done. Of course, if what's hanging you up is the idea of mixing beef and fish, well, Worcestershire is just another type of fish sauce and that gets paired with beef all the time.

One of the most convenient things about anchovy paste is the way that it's packaged. There are lots of good uses for anchovies in the kitchen, but the cans are pretty inconvenient. Often a recipe only calls for a hint of anchovy flavor, maybe a fillet or two, as with your burgers. But if you open a whole can, you'll either need to find a use for the rest of them or toss them in the garbage. Anchovy paste comes in a tube, so you can open it up, squeeze out just as much as you need, and then put the cap back on and toss it in the fridge for next time.

As for how to actually incorporate the stuff into your burger recipe, you have a few options. The simplest is to just mix it right into the patties along with any other seasonings you're using. Something like one teaspoon of anchovy paste in a pound of ground beef will give you a really surprising umami bump without adding a noticeable fishiness to the burgers. A bit more will offer you a even more umami, though with the additional paste, you run the risk of the anchovy aroma being detectable to those diners that are particularly anti-fish.

If you happen to be cooking for someone who really doesn't enjoy anchovies but still want to try out this umami booster, another way to incorporate this divisive ingredient is with a sauce. Anchovy paste is a great upgrade for store-bought mayo, so you can make a simple burger sauce — perhaps Caesar-inspired with lemon, garlic, and pepper — for only interested parties to use with their meal. This can also be a creative use for anchovy oil, if you've opened a can for another purpose. A small amount of oil is a potent upgrade to a dish of mayo.

The idea of mixing a tiny spoonful of ground cured fish into your burgers might seem strange, but it is a move that you won't regret. That little squeeze delivers deep umami. The kind that will have you safeguarding your new secret recipe and designating a permanent spot in the fridge for the tube of your new favorite ingredient.