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When it comes time for the burgers to hit the hot grill or skillet, you have some choices to make. For super-juicy burgers the best type of beef is probably 80/20, meaning 80 percent lean meat with 20 percent fat. You certainly don’t want to make the classic burger blunder of cooking under-seasoned patties. Ideally you’d be seasoning and forming your own perfect burgers patties out of ground beef. But even store-bought frozen patties can work in a pinch, and with an easy extra step, they can turn out quite impressive. In fact, it’s one of Chowhound’s delicious ways to upgrade your frozen burger: glaze your frozen burgers for incredibly flavorful results.
A sweet glaze will bring out some of the natural umami flavor of the burger and mix well with whatever else you care to add in: more salt and umami, some hot spice, or savory herbs. Start with a sticky-sweet base that will easily cling to the burger as it cooks, then stack on the flavor. The beauty of frozen patties is you can put them right on the grill straight from the freezer. You may need to add a couple more minutes of cooking time, but this frozen burger hack will definitely save you time in the end. All you have to do is flip them and brush them with your glaze.
How to glaze your frozen burgers and what glaze to use
Although the glaze for your burgers doesn’t have to strictly be sweet, a little extra sugar content will help tenderize the beef but not sap out the moisture, leaving it nice and juicy. For an easy burger glaze, take a look in the fridge — honey mustard, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, and Worcestershire all make great glazes. Just cook the burger as you normally would on the stovetop or grill, then, after the first flip, spoon or brush on the glaze. It will mix with the sizzling fat, soak into the moist beef, and add a nice touch of caramelized chew to the top. If you’ve never tried Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce, this might be the perfect opportunity to taste what it can do. It’s similar to a teriyaki sauce but with some extra rice vinegar acid and tomato paste umami, plus garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.
And to make your own easy glaze, a similar sweet, savory, and acid balance is a good road to follow. Try a couple tablespoons of bourbon with brown sugar, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. The alcohol in the bourbon will tenderize the meat but mostly cook off, leaving behind the sweet, barrel-aged flavor of bourbon, and the cayenne pepper and cumin add a nice kick that goes well with whatever you decide to use for toppings. Brown sugar will break down easily into a nice syrup, but almost any sweet base like honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup will work. Then just blend in whatever flavors you’re craving, and brush it on your frozen burger for a taste that really shines.
