For The Juiciest Burgers You'll Make, Add One Cup Of This Right To The Mix (It's Divine)

The humble homemade burger is so simple that it opens up all sorts of possibilities for experimentation, customization, and optimization. Sure, you can mix eggs with breadcrumbs into the patty, squash it, grill it, and call it a day, but why phone it in when you can make burgers that rival steakhouse handhelds right at home? One simple ingredient that can maximize the juiciness and enhance the flavor of homemade burgers is sour cream.

No, sour cream is not just for slathering on your next homemade Tex-Mex burger; a cup for every two pounds of beef actually improves the texture and moisture of the patty itself when mixed in as an ingredient. Sour cream has a high proportion of fat, and when heated, further liquifies, adding juiciness to the burger patty. The beauty of this added fat source is that it gives you more wiggle room in cooking the burgers longer without drying them out, perfect for those who prefer well-done patties. Unlike other fat sources like butter, sour cream also introduces a tanginess that contrasts the fattiness of the beef. 

Be warned though, too much sour cream could endanger the structural integrity of the patties. Another thing to keep in mind is to avoid over-mixing the burger meat, as doing so can separate a protein called myosin that binds water and fat to meat. Releasing too much myosin can result in patty shrinkage when cooked, so mix the ingredients gently by hand until they're only just incorporated. 

The good news is that because sour cream is a wet ingredient, you have room to add more dry ingredients in the patty. That means classic seasonings like salt and pepper, but also elevated ingredients like Ina Garten's trick of adding dry mustard powder to homemade burger patties for an extra flavor boost. A popular way to capitalize on the sour cream burger hack is to also add a packet of onion soup mix to really tie these complementary flavors together and add oniony richness.

Wet ingredients like Worcestershire sauce are classic umami flavor-friends of beef. For the spice-chasers out there, try Jamie Oliver's trick of adding a zesty chipotle glaze to burgers. As evidenced in so many Mexican dishes, sour cream and chipotle are a flavor match-up that's hard to beat, so you really can't go wrong. Well, that's not strictly true; you can add too many wet ingredients and turn your patties into puddles. Keep in mind that if you add more of one wet ingredient, you may need to reduce another. To further specialize your approach to this burger hack, you could even use super easy chipotle crema in place of sour cream to add a satisfying kick.