Bloody Mary-Inspired Burgers Are The Brunch Hangover Cure We Need

Bloody Mary cocktails have become the quintessential drink of the hungover community. Complete with vodka, tomato juice, and a slew of savory condiments, the boozy brunch cocktail has been touted as a hangover cure thanks to its ability to temporarily alleviate unsavory hangover symptoms. However, while vodka works to bump your blood alcohol level back up, allowing you to hide from the consequences of your actions for a little while longer, Bloody Mary cocktails aren't particularly restorative. If you're really trying to get your body back on track after a night of drinking, you're going to need to feed it something with a little more substance. Might we suggest a Bloody Mary burger?

Infusing your burger with the rich and hearty flavors of a Bloody Mary can easily be done by folding your favorite Bloody Mary ingredients directly into the ground beef. Because everyone takes their Bloody Mary a little differently, the ingredients you choose for your Bloody Mary burger can also reflect those taste preferences. While some may use a simple combination of Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce to season burger patties, others may prefer to add horseradish, celery salt, and tomato paste for an extra kick.

While the burger was invented sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s and the Bloody Mary cocktail recipe was perfected in Paris during the Jazz Age, the Bloody Mary burger seems to be a relatively new invention. In the age of social media, garnishing a Bloody Mary has become something of an extreme sport. As Bloody Mary makers continued to one-up each other with their elaborate garnishes consisting of wacky ingredients like bacon, doughnuts, and boiled crawfish, some inventive restaurants — like Sobelman's Pub & Grill in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Anvil Pub in Dallas, Texas  — had the good sense to put a cheeseburger slider right on top of their Blood Mary.

The exact origins of the Bloody Mary burger itself are vague, though Rachael Ray cooked up her version of the dish inspired by the cocktail on her show back in 2012, complete with Bloody Mary staples like Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces, horseradish, and celery. Now, it seems like everyone has a Bloody Mary burger recipe for you to try.

Bloody Mary burgers incorporate all the rich and hearty flavors of a Bloody Mary (which tastes oh-so-good when you're nursing a hangover) without adding insult to injury with the addition of vodka. While it may be missing the one ingredient in a Bloody Mary that could actually bring you some instant relief, it's chock full of healthy ingredients that can help your body slowly but surely recover after a night of overindulging. The protein in the beef works to increase blood sugar levels, which tend to decrease when we drink alcohol, resulting in headaches and fatigue. What's more, the tomatoes and tomato paste work to enhance liver function, helping you to metabolize alcohol more quickly so you can get over that hangover faster.

If you think a touch of vodka might help you get over the hump, however, a condiment consisting of mayo, lemon juice, Bloody Mary mix, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and just a tablespoon of vodka can take your Bloody Mary burger to new heights. If you're more apt to slather ketchup on your burger, try mixing in some horseradish for a boost of that Bloody Mary flavor.