Who doesn’t love a good burger? Hamburgers are a staple dinner in most American homes. On a nice warm summer day, what better way to spend it than some potato salad, watermelon, and grilled burger made to perfection. Burgers can be topped in so many ways but really the most important step to the whole process is preparation and grilling. Without those two things you are just eating beef and why would anyone want to do this when they could have the best.
Let’s start with first things first – preparation of that patty. Many people are tempted to use super lean meat and use fillers such as breadcrumbs and egg to “beef” up the patty. These things are not necessary at all for a remarkably juicy hamburger. What you really need is beef that is at least twenty – three percent fat and some seasoning salts, lots of seasoning salt!
Next you will want to divide the meat and make patties. Make the patties an hour or two before you are going to grill them. Storing them in the refrigerator will allow them time to get firm and will permit the meat to stick together during grilling. You will also want to handle the meat as little as possible. Don’t pack the meat solid you really want a light “fluffy” patty. Most people think thick burgers are the best. In my opinion in order to get an evenly cooked burger it is better to go bigger not thicker. Especially using beef that has a high fat content what will happen during the grilling process is that the fat will drip off the burger and will shrink in roundness. You want to avoid having more bun than beef at all costs. The experience is the beef itself not the bun.
Now prepare the grill. Warm the grill to medium – high heat, scrape any residue off that is left over from the last time you grilled and get ready to BBQ the best burgers of your life. Once the grill is warm allow yourself time to just grill, block all other things out and bring your meat out to meet the grill. Here it goes put the burger on the grill and let it sit, don’t touch it! Leave the lid open and just sit and watch the grill take over. It may be difficult for you not to touch it and squish it down to make sure the insides are getting cooked but trust me don’t! Let it sit for a full 4 minutes and then…Flip it over and do the exact same thing to the other side. After 8 minutes on medium-high BBQ grill heat you will have a little slice of hamburger heaven.