It's grilling season. And you know what that means: fried tomatoes. No, just kidding. It means burgers! It is, of course, also high season for grill-mands (like gourmands? See what I did there?) to get all fancy and grill up watermelon, pizza, and even truly "grilled" cheese. But the most basic of all backyard BBQ staples is the humble burger.
There are a couple of tricks to making the perfect burger. First, you need a meat with a good meat-to-fat ratio like 80/20 or 85/15. This ensures that you'll have a moist (sorry! juicy) burger. I also add some onions for flavor and additional juice (more on that below). Second, you need some good seasonings. Mustard for kick, Worcestershire to enhance that beefy flavor, garlic because garlic should be in everything, and of course salt and pepper to round everything out. Third, you need to shape the patties so they don't dome in the middle, which a) makes them cook unevenly b) makes your toppings slip off and c) increases the likelihood that you'll be tempted to press down on the burger while cooking, thereby pushing out all the juices and losing the tasty fruits (or burgers) of your labors! This list is getting pretty long, so let's just make 'em and you can see how it's done.
