The Ultimate Burger Condiments and Pickles Guide

Condiments do the work the patty can't: acid to cut the fat, crunch against soft bread, sweetness or heat for contrast. Ketchup and mayo cover part of that. Pickles, relishes and mustards cover the rest, and each kind does a slightly different job.

Pickles

Acid and crunch are what a pickle brings: it cuts through fat and resets your palate between bites. How much it cuts, and what else it adds, depends on the type.

Dill

Dill pickles are the default burger pickle. Brined in vinegar with fresh dill and garlic, they're sour and aromatic, and more acidic than sweet pickles, so they cut through cheese and rich sauces best.

Choose chips about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick: thick enough to stay crunchy, thin enough to bite through without the pickle sliding out the back of the burger. Hamburger dill chips are cut to this size. Use them on classic cheeseburgers, bacon burgers and anything with a fried egg or creamy sauce.

Bread and butter

These are sweet pickles, brined with sugar, vinegar and spices like mustard seed, coriander and turmeric. They add a sweet-tangy note rather than a sharp cut. That suits burgers with bacon or barbecue sauce, where the sweetness complements the smoke, and spicy burgers, where the sugar tempers the heat. They also work with heavily seasoned patties and sweet-leaning sauces.

Kosher dill

Kosher dills push the garlic further and often have a firmer crunch. The name refers to the Jewish deli style of preparation; it doesn't necessarily mean the pickles are certified kosher. Their bold flavor stands up to blue cheese, aged cheddar, raw red onion and peppery arugula.

Fermented and half-sour

Before vinegar brining became standard, cucumbers were preserved by lacto-fermentation: bacteria naturally present on the cucumbers convert sugars into lactic acid. The result is more complex and slightly funky, and less sharply sour than vinegar pickles.

• Half-sours ferment for a shorter time. They're the mildest pickles, still close to fresh cucumber, which suits burgers where the pickle shouldn't dominate: wagyu, fish burgers, or burgers with fresh mozzarella or burrata.
• Full-sours ferment longer and taste tangier and funkier, with an umami depth vinegar pickles lack. Use them on rich, fatty burgers.

Spicy

Jalapeños, habaneros, red pepper flakes or hot sauce in the brine give you acid and heat at once. The acid cuts richness while the chile adds a kick that doesn't bury the beef. Use them as the only heat on a burger with lettuce, tomato and mayo, or add them to one that's already spicy. Jalapeño versions taste green and vegetal; cayenne gives a cleaner burn.

Relishes

Relish is chopped vegetables, fruit or herbs, pickled and often cooked. Because it's chopped, it spreads evenly and stays put instead of slipping out mid-bite like a pickle slice.

Sweet pickle relish

Finely chopped cucumbers in a sweet-and-sour brine, usually with mustard seed and turmeric. It's a common base for thousand island dressing and burger sauces; the Reuben burger stirs it into mayo and ketchup. Better relishes have distinct, crunchy pieces of pickle. Skip any that look like uniform mush.

Dill relish

Same chopped format, savory dill brine. It puts dill flavor in every bite instead of only where the slices land, and it's the better pick when sweetness would clash: mustard-heavy burgers, burgers with sauerkraut or other fermented toppings, and deli-style builds.

Specialty relishes

Small-batch producers make relishes far beyond cucumber:

• pickled beet relish with cumin and coriander, earthy and sweet
• orange-ginger relish, bright and warm, good with pork or turkey burgers
• tomatillo relish, tangy and good with pepper jack and jalapeños
• ale onion spreads, sweet caramelized onion with beer
• tomato kasundi, a spiced Indian-style tomato condiment

Reach for one when you're building a burger around a specific cuisine.

Mustards

Mustard brings heat, acid and complexity that ketchup can't, and the range runs from mild yellow to sharp Dijon and malty beer mustard.

Yellow

Made from yellow mustard seeds, vinegar and turmeric (for color), yellow mustard is mild but tangy enough to cut through rich toppings, and it spreads easily. It belongs on classic cheeseburgers and bacon burgers, and its sharpness suits the browned crust of a smash burger.

Dijon

Dijon uses brown or black mustard seeds with white wine or wine vinegar. The heat is sharper than yellow mustard but builds gradually, and it tastes less of vinegar. Use it with Gruyère, caramelized onions, arugula or truffle mayo, and with premium beef or wagyu. Spread it on the bun or whisk it into aioli for a softer effect.

Whole grain

Whole grain (or stone-ground) mustard keeps the seeds partly whole, so they pop when you bite. The flavor is close to Dijon, with added texture. It suits gourmet burgers and artisan buns, and it's good stirred into burger sauces.

Honey mustard

Honey softens mustard's bite; mustard keeps the honey from cloying. It goes better with chicken, turkey or pork than beef, where the sweetness can compete with the browned crust. The exception is a beef burger with bacon or sharp cheddar, where the sweetness has something to balance; the honey mustard pretzel burger uses both.

Spicy brown

Spicy brown (deli) mustard is made from brown mustard seeds with less vinegar and more kick. It's built for big burgers: pastrami, corned beef, blue cheese, pickled vegetables. On a delicate burger, it takes over.

Beer and specialty mustards

Beer mustards use ale or stout for malty depth and a slight bitterness that suits beef. Fruit mustards (fig, cherry, apricot) add sweetness. Southern-style rustic mustards combine whole grain texture with barbecue sweetness and vinegar tang. Put a good craft mustard on a simple burger, where you can actually taste it, rather than under six other toppings.

Matching Condiments to the Burger

• Classic cheeseburger: dill chips, yellow mustard and ketchup. The pickle cuts the cheese, the mustard adds sharpness, the ketchup adds sweetness and moisture. Switch to bread and butter pickles if you skip the ketchup or use sharp cheddar instead of American.
• Upscale burgers with Gruyère or caramelized onions: Dijon or whole grain mustard, half-sours or house-made pickles, and a specialty relish like pickled beet or tomatillo.
• Spicy burgers: either amplify (spicy pickles, hot relish) or contrast (sweet pickles, honey mustard). Most people prefer some contrast; heat on heat gets tiring.
• Bacon and BBQ burgers: dill pickles cut through the sweet sauce and salty bacon. Bread and butter pickles and honey mustard lean into the sweetness instead, which can turn cloying if your sauce is already sweet.
• Chicken and turkey burgers: their milder, leaner meat suits honey mustard, bread and butter pickles and sweeter relishes. Beef takes sharper dill pickles and Dijon.

Ketchup, Mayo and Hot Sauce

Ketchup: craft versions made with whole tomatoes instead of paste, with less sugar or with smoked paprika or chipotle, taste noticeably different from the standard bottle.

Mayo and aioli: mayonnaise made with good oil and real eggs is worth seeking out. Garlic aioli and flavored aiolis work as both condiment and sauce; try truffle garlic aioli or spicy sriracha mayo. Spread it thin rather than slathering.

Hot sauce: vinegar-based sauces like Tabasco or Frank's RedHot add heat and acid; fermented hot sauces add a deeper, savory heat. A few dashes is enough.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between pickles and relish?

Pickles are whole or sliced cucumbers preserved in brine; on a burger, they add crunch in distinct bites. Relish is chopped pickled vegetables (often cucumbers) in a sweet or savory brine. It does the same flavor job but spreads evenly and doesn't slide out.

How do you keep pickles from making the bun soggy?

Pat the slices dry with a paper towel to remove excess brine. Put them on top of the patty rather than directly on the bun, and use lettuce as a barrier between wet ingredients and bread. A well-toasted bun resists moisture far better than a soft one.

Dill or bread and butter pickles?

Dill when the burger is rich and needs acid: cheese, sauces, fried egg. Bread and butter when it has smoky or salty elements like bacon or barbecue sauce that sweetness complements. If you can't decide, dill is the safer default.