Elements of a perfect burger

We've had dozens of threads on the best burger joints but here's a great article on the art of making the perfect burger at home.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/dining/01burg.html?pagewanted=1

The starting point is the beef.

Don't buy that crappy prepackaged ground beef you find in supermarkets and if you do, never buy the lean stuff.

I like the idea of buying brisket which has about a 70 to 30 meat to fat ratio and having your butcher ground it for you.

Other great tips include:

Don't overhandle the patty.

Cook it like a steak (if you're not grilling it). Get a cast iron pan smoking hot, sear the burger on both sides to get the proper crust and finish it off in a 375 oven.

A perfect burger is like a roast chicken. It seems easy but there are all sorts of ways you can fuck it up.

 

Hey, I posted this first: http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/54639/

But it was buried on page 11, so it's cool.

 

A lesson we all wish we'd learned sooner.

 

Get your fucking hands off me, sir.

 

That's a strong debut.

 

Not many hit one out of the park in the first at-bat.

 

Yeah, that's the key. I mean, I will use supermarket meat for convenience sake sometimes, but if we're being serious about it, I go to a butcher shop. Some years ago we had a large cookout and a friend who fancies himself as a gourmet (and may be) bit into the burger and said quiety, "This meat is not from the grocery store, is it?" He could tell. I always get ground chuck.

I have never tried the skillet/oven method because I always use the grill on the patio. I have grilled in snowstorms.

Using a quality cheese helps.

Lately, after trying it at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, I have been using fresh jalapeno on the burgers I make at home.

 

Ditto on the bun. Do not skimp on a crappy, way-too-small hunk of bread. I prefer a kaiser bun, myself.

 

Some call it a sling bun, I call it a kaiser bun. Uh-huh.

 

NICE!

 

That's a couple of pretty good lines on the first page. *tips cap*

 

My musts are kosher half-sour pickles, extra sharp cheddar and spicy mustard. I also don't want a very big burger or a very big bun.

Before we started dieting, Mrs. W used to make this shallot butter to place in the meat which was great. I'd also put a little bit of pancetta on top of the burger.