A Little Personal History:
In my life long quest for the ultimate, juicy hamburger; after years of trial and error, here’s the seasoning sauce that “make it happen”!
Description:
Here’s the secret sauce that makes The “Lars” Hamburger, Lars’s Meatloaf or any ground beef dish needing a boost of juiciness and flavor!
| Categories: | Sauce |
| Servings: | ⅔ cup for 4 lbs. Ground beef |
| Time: | - Preparation Time: 20 minutes - Cooking Time: 10 minutes |
| Equipment: | Large metal or glass mixing bowl, mortar & pestle or coffee grinder, 1 small bowl, small skillet, whisk, plastic spatula, glass jar & top |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Ingredients:
- ½ cup bacon fat, butter or olive oil
- 4 Tbs. seasoning – course sea salt, pepper corns, coriander seeds; ground together
- 2 Tbs. brown sugar
- 2 Tbs. Lars’s Worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ cup Lars’s Pico de Gallo
- 3 Tbs. all purpose flour
Procedure:
- In small skillet, over low heat, melt bacon fat or butter. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. If using oil, just add to skillet without heating.
- With mortar & pestle or coffee grinder (my tool of choice), grind seasoning, in equal portions to make 4 Tbs. Set aside in small bowl.
- In large mixing bowl, whisk egg lightly, then add brown sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, Pico de Gallo and seasonings. Whisk thoroughly.
- Transfer mixture back to skillet with cooled fat/butter/oil, whisk thoroughly. Transfer skillet back to stove top, over low heat, whisk for 3 minutes.
- Slowly add flour while continuously whisking sauce. After all flour has been added; whisk occasionally for 5 minutes.
- With small spatula, transfer to a sterilized glass jar, tightly seal and refrigerate.
Advanced Preparation:
- Everything can be done in advance and refrigerated. Sauce will last a couple weeks.
Tips, Notes, and Variations:
- Why these ingredients?
- Oil/Fat: great burgers at bars & restaurants are often juicy because they use meat with high fat content. The goal of this sauce is to allow the use of high quality meats, low in animal fat, and add healthy oils/fats back in (ok, olive oil is our preference. The other can be substituted if your healthy choices differ from or variety is your passion. For example, if you’re planning to make bacon burgers, it’s only natural to use melted bacon fat).
- Pico de Gallo: added for improved texture, flavor.
- Brown Sugar: for tastiness that “melts” in your mouth.
- Egg & Flour: holds burgers together while retaining natural juices and flavors during cooking. Take your 1st bite and the juices explode in your mouth, on the plate and everywhere else!
- Seasonings: for those who want to explore beyond juicy, the seasoning recommended add great flavor to your burger. Salt, pepper, coriander are a must; parsley, basil, oregano, and thyme are a personal “taste bud” choices. For a Cajun flavored burger, try Lars’s Cajun Blast Seasoning. Mix, match, and experiment!
- To give some added juiciness & flavor to any ground meat dish, give this seasoning sauce a try. As a matter of fact, spread it like butter over a steak during grilling and enjoy!
