This Southern Staple Is The Secret To More Flavorful Homemade Burgers

It probably won't blow anyone's mind to suggest that bacon and burgers are a fruitful combination. Be it a classic bacon cheeseburger or burger buns toasted in sizzling bacon grease, these rich flavors work well together. This doesn't mean you've necessarily explored all the ways in which they can come together, though. For moist and truly flavorful homemade burgers, try turning to the traditional Southern staple of rendered bacon fat, which can be rewardingly incorporated into the patty itself.

Those who grew up in the South know that bacon fat is often saved. It's prized for its ability to bestow a depth of flavor and an unmistakable smoky, bacon-y note to any number of dishes — just try brushing biscuits with bacon grease for an unbelievable savory upgrade. If you wish to do the same for burgers, the first step is to safely reserve and store the fat. Start by straining the cooled grease though a coffee filter or cheesecloth into a glass jar, making sure to remove any bits of actual bacon to stop the liquid from going rancid. After that, store it in the refrigerator for up to three months, or pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it indefinitely. 

The simplest method for incorporating reserved bacon fat into burgers is to mix a few tablespoons into your ground beef mixture, along with a paste made from crustless white bread and milk (rather like a panade, which is the easy way to ensure juicy meatballs). Once combined, form your patties and cook the burgers according to your preferred method, whether on the grill or in a pan.

In response to a post on Reddit asking for opinions about combining bacon fat in with lean ground beef for the purposes of making patties, several respondents spoke highly of this addition. One Redditor commented, "At one of the restaurants I worked at, we saved the bacon grease after cooking bacon and mixed it into our lean ground beef for burgers. Just let the leftover grease get to room temp and/or chill it before mixing. They were really good!" Others noted that this was a method utilized in many "high-end" burgers, but cautioned that bacon grease contains considerably more salt and spices than other forms of fat, which should be kept in mind when seasoning patties.

It's worth noting that other types of fat can also be used in burger blends, with some cooks online strongly advocating for the distinctive flavor that goose fat can bring. Still, there's nothing quite like the taste of bacon, so if you're a real pilgrim for this pork product, there's nothing to stop you from doubling (or perhaps quadrupling) down and not only adding bacon fat into your burger blend, but also frying your patties and toasting your buns in the fat, or adding bacon fat into your burger sauce. You can even garnish the whole thing with a bacon weave, a trick that also makes breakfast sandwiches so much better.