The Only 2 Ingredients Bobby Flay Uses To Season His Burgers

Burger seasoning is as controversial a topic as it is delicious. While any number of specialized, secret ingredients may make a spectacular patty, some folks, like Bobby Flay, prefer to take a more classic route, letting the quality of the meat do the heavy lifting on flavor. For folks like Flay, there are two seasonings that reign supreme: salt and pepper.

A high-quality meat blend (fatty enough to stay moist and rich but lean enough to not fall apart) benefits more from seasonings that elevates its natural flavor rather than covers it up. In a burger-making course with Food Network, Flay revealed one other key element to seasoning a great burger: using enough of it. "As much salt and pepper as you think you need, add more," Flay says. "That's one of the differences between a professional cook and a home cook: we season things much more aggressively at our restaurants than you would at home, but that's kind of the key to bringing out all of the natural flavors of the food and it does really make a difference in the final result."

While overseasoning your burger may lead to overwhelming tastes and possibly even a burnt crust, a solid, liberal dose of salt and pepper is just one of the many things that make Flay's burger irresistible. By creating a solid base of flavor, you've got more opportunity to later dress your patty how you'd like, whether that's with perfectly melted cheese or a garden variety of toppings.

Salt and pepper may be two of the most commonly used everyday ingredients when it comes to seasoning food, but their potency is undeniable. Salt is such a ubiquitous flavor enhancer for so many dishes because of its power to increase the savory, umami notes in food, which is ideal for rich beefy proteins such as steaks and burgers.

Salt readies the taste buds, and helps the flavors seem more concentrated, so the burger tastes more, well, like a burger. Pungent pepper, meanwhile, adds a flavor all of its own to burger meat. While there are different types of peppercorns, most recipes call for freshly ground black pepper. Its hot, aromatic notes pair well with savory meat, adding a punchy boldness that amplifies the flavors of the meat. And salt and pepper just complement each other perfectly when it comes to taste.

But while Bobby Flay advocates salt and pepper as the only seasoning a good burger requires, he's also careful about how to use them. The chef likes to season the outside of the burger patties when they are formed — but does not add seasoning to the meat mix before this point. Because it's not just about adding flavor — it's also important to season the meat at the right time and in the right way for juicier results.

Flay is a big believer in staying away from the grill and cooking patties solely in a cast iron pan. Solid heat diffusion and retention give cast iron a second-to-none reputation for beautiful Maillard crusts, which adds caramelized, roasted notes to the meat to elevate its natural flavors even further. To support that high heat and not add too many extra flavors, Flay always uses canola oil to pan fry his burgers, thanks to its neutral taste and smoke point between 400 and 475 degrees Fahrenheit. When the right pan and oil combo work together with a basic salt and pepper seasoning, you get an unbeatably crispy and flavorful exterior.

A great crust isn't the only reason Flay swears by pans over grills. Flay perfectly melts the cheese on his burgers by creating steam and adding a lid for the last minute of cooking time, something you just can't do on a grill. With a high-quality, straightforward seasoning, the right pan and oil, and gooey cheese, you have the absolute template of a perfect burger that's perfect plain but still ready for any number of sauces, veggies, and other accoutrements.