This Pantry Trick For Juicier Burgers Is A Complete Waste Of Ingredients

Anyone can put a glob of beef onto the grill and slap two buns around it, but if you want to have the kind of cookout that keeps people coming back for more, you ought to learn the correct way to make this staple of American cuisine. One common mistake people make with burgers is letting the beef dry out. While there are many ways to ensure that your burgers turn out juicy, one of those tips may not be as helpful as it first appears; namely, adding brown sugar to the beef. The topic recently came up when we spoke to Michael Hawk, executive chef at Fontainebleau Miami Beach, and he told us that this was, in fact, a bad call.

"I would have to disagree with this one," says Hawk. "Brown sugar promotes caramelization and contributes sweetness, but it doesn't significantly improve moisture retention." If you're planning on adding a smoky or spicy seasoning, a better way to add sweetness to a burger for balance is to add diced sweet onion. But the intended goal for adding the brown sugar isn't for sweetness — it's there to keep the burger juicy.

"If you want a juicier burger, don't press it down with a spatula — use ground beef with a higher fat content, and avoid overcooking it," explains Hawk. "Those are the biggest factors that lead to dry burgers." It's not that brown sugar is going to ruin any burger patty it touches. There are simply more effective ways to help the beef retain moisture.

If you have a keen eye for detail, you might notice that Michael Hawk's suggestions for helping burgers stay moist has nothing to do with adding ingredients to the mix, and that's for good reason. "There isn't much you can add to a quality beef patty that will genuinely improve moisture retention," he shares. "Breadcrumbs can absorb some of the juices and rendered fat, which is why they're often used in meatloaf or meatballs, but I don't generally recommend them for a classic burger." Breadcrumb burgers may eventually become a staple of the next Great Depression (not unlike the surprisingly tasty Hoover Stew), but thankfully, we're not there just yet.

Brown sugar isn't entirely without its merits, mind you. As Hawk puts it, "Brown sugar can enhance browning and add subtle caramel notes, creating a slightly sweeter flavor and a different texture on the exterior." But even then, as Hawk points out, "Beef already contains the proteins and natural sugars needed to develop excellent browning." In other words, the addition of brown sugar is largely redundant.

As a small aside, he adds, "I also avoid adding high-moisture ingredients directly into the meat. Excess surface moisture interferes with the Maillard reaction, making it more difficult to develop a good crust." It's a safe guess to assume he also wouldn't be a fan of adding soda to burgers, either.