AmazingRibs.com is supported by our Pitmaster Club. Also, when you buy with links on our site we may earn a finder’s fee. Click to see how we test and review products.

Burger Glop: Hamburger Secret Sauce Recipe You Will Love

Share on:
burger glop

Keep the condiments simple and let the beef shine through

According to a survey by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), adult Americans report they use ketchup most often (66% of respondents), with mustard (62%) close behind. The PBS show “Cheese, please!” says 66%, while 74% add lettuce, onion and/or tomato. Women lean towards the veggies more than men (80% vs. 68%), and 70% say they prefer a traditional bun to complete their grilled sandwiches. According to a survey by Johnny Rockets hamburger chain, ketchup rules the condiments and is the most preferred topping (63%), followed by mustard (50%) and mayonnaise (42%). Other popular toppings include lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles. Fewer than 2% said that they prefer their hamburgers plain. Click here for some thought on what else to put on a burger and where to put it.

Most folks put their sauces on top of the patty, but I disagree with this strategy. I put the liquid stuff on the bottom so it can soak into the bun, coat the meat, mix with the juices that drip down, and anchor the patty in place, especially since you only have your thumbs to hold the bottom bun. Some folks like to put lettuce on the bottom to act as a barrier between the burger juices and the bun in an attempt to keep the bottom bun dry. But I disagree with this strategy. With lettuce on the bottom, the patty slides around too much and two thumbs are not enough to control it. On top of the patty is where I put this big slippery stuff because you have eight fingers to manage the top.

Some other bottomings

Here are some other bottomings you might want to try either solo or in a blend: Ketchup, mustard (or mustard sauce), mayo, steak sauceKansas City style barbecue sauce, thousand island dressing, salsa, remoulade sauce, balsamic vinegar reduction, aioli, chimichurri sauce, tonkatsu sauce, mayo with a few drops of sesame oil mixed in, hot sauce in sour cream, smashed avocado or guacamole, horseradish cream saucesweet-sour pickle relish, roasted garlic, minced jalapeño, or giardiniera.

Toppings

The famous Build A Better Burger Contest seems to be all about the condiments. Me? Some of these concoctions sound wonderful, but they are just too fussy and hide the meat. I’m fine with lettuce, tomato, and onion. Period. OK, maybe two strips of thick bacon. I’m not even a big fan of cheeseburgers.

Lettuce. I want crisp, cold lettuce that crunches and squirts cold water on top of the hot meat juices. This is the perfect use for iceberg or Romaine lettuce. Especially the thick bottom parts.

Tomatoes. As for the tomatoes, try to find big beefsteak style tomatoes the same diameter as the patty. When you use small slices, they move around too much and usually fall out. Always use ripe tomatoes, no underripe pink rocks. They’re too acidic. Nowadays you can often find real ripe tomatoes all year ’round that are grown in greenhouses. Campari tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse, usually grown hydroponically (in nutrient solutions and inert media like gravel, no dirt), about the size of golf balls and almost always delicious, perfectly ripe, and juicy. Interestingly, many come from Toronto. Plum tomatoes are less juicy if you want more substance. If I can’t find ripe tomatoes, I live without them.

Onions. As with the tomatoes, I like a single thin slice of raw onion the same diameter as the patty. In season, I go for a slice of sweet onion like Vidalia (May through July) or Walla Walla (June through August). If they are not in season, it’s red onion for me. Sometimes I put the onion on top of the burger while it’s on the grill to take the edge off and make it less slippery. If you’re making a cheeseburger, you can anchor the onion in place by putting the cheese on top. Just don’t slice the onions long in advance. Onion slices or chopped onion can get really stanky when it sits around for an hour or more. They taste best when freshly sliced.

Many people prefer grilled, griddled, or caramelized onions. I have a soft spot for these, but they’re slippery, and they’re a bit sweet for me for regular burgers, although I love them on cheeseburgers. A lot of pubs like to top burgers with breaded fried onion rings. I’ve even enjoyed burgers with those crunchy fried onions from the can, and I’ve seen menus with pickled onions.

Cheese. Put cheese on it and you’ve made a cheeseburger. In parts of the Southeast, pimento cheese spread supplants both the melted cheese of the cheeseburger and the need for ketchup or other sauces. More on that soon.

Bacon. What doesn’t go well with bacon? Add bacon and you get smokiness, sweetness, and saltiness. A remarkable variation on the theme is, are you sitting, pastrami as served at Hymie’s in Merion Station, PA. Clcik here to learn how to make your own bacon or pastrami.

Stylin’. If you agree with McNair and want to do some stylin’, try: my recipe for sweet sour pickle slices, pickle relish, grilled tomato, roasted red peppers, sautéd mushrooms, thinly sliced pears or apples, potato chips, or slaw. Or go to his website, which has some amazingly creative creations.

In Chicago, the spectacular Kuma Burger at Kuma’s Corner has a sunny side egg on top to complete the steak and eggs combo.

In LA it is not hard to find crumbled spicy Mexican style chorizo sausage on top, a sort of South of the Border chiliburger.

Then there’s the pizza burger topped with tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese. Or the Carolina Pimento Cheeseburger, Green Chile Cheeseburger, Beanburger, or one of the other regional styles. How about a “Guberburger,” topped with peanut butter and served at the now deceased Wheel Inn Drive-In in Sedalia, MO? Or the “Nutburger” at Matt’s in Butte, MT, which has a blanket of chopped salted peanuts mixed with Miracle Whip. How far would you drive for one of those?

My favorite combos

Steakhouse Steakburger. Bottomings: 1 tablespoon Meathead’s Glop. Toppings: 1/4″ slice raw sweet onion (Vidalia, Walla Walla), 1 leaf crunchy iceberg or Romaine lettuce, 1/4″ slice wide tomato (only if ripe otherwise skip it), 2 slices of bacon, not too crunchy.

Cheeseburger. Bottomings: 1 tablespoon Meathead’s Glop. Toppings: 1/8″ slice of cheddar, 2 thick slices of bacon, griddled or caramelized onions.

Did I miss something? Let me know what you like on your burgers by adding your favorite items to the comments at the bottom of the article.

Burger Glop Recipe


burger glop
Tried this recipe?Tell others what you thought of it and give it a star rating below.
4.36 from 78 votes
Many restaurants have their own "Secret Sauce". A typical blend is made of ketchup, mayo, mustard, and perhaps sweet-sour pickle relish. In the Pacific Northwest there is a popular sauce called "Goop" made with mayo, mustard, sour cream, and pickle relish. McDonald's is famous for it's Big Mac with its "Special Sauce." Here's how to make it at home. Here's my favorite Hamburger Sauce, which I call "Glop". I've been known to use it on both burgers and fries. It's got a mild kick.

Course:
Sauces and Condiments
Cuisine:
American
difficulty scale

Makes:

Servings: 1.25 cups

Takes:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

Notes:
About the salt. Remember, kosher salt is half the concentration of table salt so if you use table salt, use half as much. Click here to read more about salt and how it works.
Metric conversion:

These recipes were created in US Customary measurements and the conversion to metric is being done by calculations. They should be accurate, but it is possible there could be an error. If you find one, please let us know in the comments at the bottom of the page

Method

  • Whisk everything together in a bowl until smooth. Take the day off. Obviously nothing is set in concrete about this recipe. You can vary the ingredients to your taste or doctor them with other ingredients. But start with this and then add what you like. Write it down, and do it again. Don't worry about the hot sauce. It gets lost on the burger. Add more if you wish. Just don't make it so hot you can't taste the beef.

Related articles

Published On: 8/24/2012 Last Modified: 2/13/2024

Share on:
  • Meathead, BBQ Hall of Famer - Founder and publisher of AmazingRibs.com, Meathead is known as the site's Hedonism Evangelist and BBQ Whisperer. He is also the author of the New York Times Best Seller "Meathead, The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", named one of the "100 Best Cookbooks of All Time" by Southern Living.

 

High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!

Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.

Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.


Post comments and questions below

grouchy?

1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.

2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.

3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.

4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.

5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.

Moderators

  Max

Click to comment or ask a question...

Spotlight

These are not paid ads, they are a curated selection of products we love.

All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.

Use Our Links To Help Keep Us Alive

Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.