A perfect burger begins with a chuck roast that you or your butcher grinds into burger meat. (FYI, you can grind meat in most home food processors.) You want meat that is about 20% fat. Any leaner, and your burger will be dry and tasteless. If you start with freshly ground, high-quality grain-fed beef, then about the only thing you can screw up en route to a perfect burger is to overcook the thing.

The Basic Burger

Lightly salt and pepper the ground meat and work the seasoning into the meat with your fingers. Form the meat into patties that are slightly larger than the buns you intend to serve your burgers on, about ¾ to 1 inch thick. Cook a 1-inch thick burger over a charcoal fire for six minutes, then turn the burger and cook for another six minutes. This will result in a perfectly done medium-rare burger every time.

If you like your burgers medium to well-done, cook them longer. About two minutes before the cooking time is up, lay on a slice of cheese. Serve on burger buns with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, dill pickles, onions, and other condiments, as you wish.

Many guys have an annoying habit of squishing down their burgers with a spatula while they cook. Don’t do this. It just squeezes the natural juices out of the meat. Just let the burger sit in its quiet repose for the allotted time, then serve. You can, of course, move the burger around the grill to stop flare-ups (a squirt bottle of water will also solve this problem), but otherwise, leave it alone.

Variations

Before forming into patties, add any combination of the following to the ground meat -- or prety much anything else you can think of that sounds like it might go with a burger:

• Sautéed onions
• Garlic
• Sautéed chopped mushrooms
• Finely chopped celery
• Crumbled bleu cheese
• Crumbled cooked bacon
• Grated cheese (Parmesan, Romano, cheddar, whatever)
• Chopped pickles,
• Pickle relish
• Chopped olives
• Mustard of any variety
• Ketchup
• Soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• Steak sauce
• Horseradish
• Finely chopped radishes
• A few dashes of hot sauce

If the meat is too loose and gooey to form into patties, add cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs to tighten it up. Proceed as above.

Got a great burger recipe? Share it here.

See also:

• Beer Can Chicken
• Bratwurst
• Charcoal-Roasted Ham
• Charcoal-Roasted Turkey
• Classic Side Dishes
• Fish & Seafood
• Grilled Vegetables
• Perfect BBQ Chicken
• Pork Ribs
• Pretty Good Brisket
• The Perfect Steak