The Simplest Way To Add Chili Flavor To Your Burger Without A Mess

Making burgers at home puts all the flavors in the palm of your hands, and homemade patties deserve serious attention though we don't mean being covered beneath layers of condiments. Burgers can get messy quickly, especially when slathered with sauces and spreads in an attempt to add flavor to standard patties and basic buns. If you're craving a flavorful, smoky burger with a bit of a kick to serve sandwiched between perfectly toasted buns, one spice can be easily folded into the patties.

With the quick sprinkle of chili powder, your weekly burger dinner is in for a tasty temperature upgrade. Even a spoonful of the spice can lend a warming, smoky taste to a batch of grilled burgers, and you won't need to drown your grilled burgers with an excess of sauces to create dinners that pack heat. If you're one to marinate steaks in hot sauce, you'll definitely want to bring chili powder into your next burger night.

Chili powder can be purchased in a range of heat levels, so choose the version that appeals to your level of spice tolerance. Whether you've settled on mild or extra hot, always begin to add chili powder slowly to your batch of ground meat, then season appropriately. It's much easier to add the spice incrementally than try to remedy an overspiced patty. 

If you're wanting to carry the spice into other aspects of your meal, consider dashing chili powder into refried beans to serve as a side dish or add the spice to homemade mayo to top your cooked burgers. If chili powder simply isn't your thing, you have alternatives: Chili pepper powder and paprika can be spooned into your burger mix, and drizzles of hot sauces and chili oil can add extra flavor to tonight's burgers, regardless of whether you're putting together bean burgers or forming patties out of ground turkey. Then, when you do decide to add sauce or additional condiments, you'll already have a flavorful burger to top.