These Seasonings Make The Easiest Ground-Meat Flavor Upgrades

Ground meat is a versatile and budget-friendly ingredient that you can incorporate into countless burger recipes, meatballs, and stews. And the way you season ground meat is essential to a successful final product. We spoke with Dennis Littley, the chef and culinary expert behind Ask Chef Dennis, about easy ground meat seasonings to upgrade its flavors.

If you're looking for a standard spice blend formula, chef Littley told us, "some of my staple seasonings include garlic, onion, black pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, oregano, thyme, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce." Worcestershire sauce will amplify the umami-richness of ground meat, while aromatics and savory seasonings will make the overall flavor profile much more complex. Powdered and solid spices and aromatics aren't the only seasonings to incorporate into ground meat, as liquids and condiments are equally valuable. For example, says Littley, "a little bit of acidity (from lemon juice, vinegar, mustard or even Worcestershire) will enhance the flavors in the dish without additional salt."

You can maximize the flavor of your dried spices and, in turn, your ground meat with a few simple tips. According to chef Littley, "a freshly ground black peppercorn has a great deal more aromatic potential, as does toasted spice." Toasting spices enhances the flavors while also instilling a smoky element. You'll probably need to season ground meat throughout the preparation of the dish, including at the very end. To that effect, says chef Littley, "taste, and then adjust before serving."

Ground meat lends well to spice blends because, chef Littley told us, "ground meats have many surfaces to season, [so] they absorb flavors equally on all sides with each bite." Of course, there are many different ground proteins to choose from, and they all have different flavor profiles that require different spice blends. Chef Littley gave us formulas for most types of ground meat. "For beef," he says, "I like garlic, black pepper, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, or chili. Pork works well with sage, fennel, thyme, garlic, and chili, while milder turkey benefits from garlic, onion, paprika, cumin, herbs, and citrus. For lamb, cumin, coriander, garlic, rosemary, oregano, and mint complement its richer, more distinctive flavor." We utilize coriander and mint in our recipe for lamb burgers and ground fennel and fresh sage in this maple-sage breakfast pork sausage recipe.

Chef Littley also provides crucial tips on when and how to season ground meat. "With a ground product that is loose," he says, "I always add some type of seasoning to the raw ingredients first, allowing the flavors to "bloom" from the fat content. And then at the end of cooking time add additional seasonings." When adding seasonings to raw meat, Littley stresses the importance of gently blending the mixture. Even celebrity chef Bobby Flay says that overworked meat results in an unpleasantly dense consistency.