How to make the perfect hamburger

[Richard Roman]

OK. I have been experimenting over the last few weeks on making the perfect hamburger. But what am I doing wrong? None of my creations seem to be up to scratch! Help needed! Please post any tips here!

[Michael King]

If you're making non-juicy Lucy cheeseburgers, put the cheese on after you flip. Cheddar is the old stand-by, blue cheese is great, or a spicy creole remoulade, a garlic aoli, smoky BBQ, it all depends on your taste.

[Michael King]

Any kind of lean meat will be dry and taste mealy. A little fat marbled in is essential.

[Michael King]

Also, pressing down on the patties, like they do in the movies is silly, it squeezes all the juices out. So. . . Uh. . . Don't do that.

[Michael King]

Don't handle the "mixture" much. Touch it as little as possible, and make sure it has warmed to room temperature before you begin to cook, as you should do with all meat, especially steaks. If it's more than 1 inch thick it will take a few minutes longer. For medium rare 3-5 minutes (basically until they release easily from the pan or grill) then then flip and about 3 min. on the other side. As I said, if thicker than an inch, might take a little longer, less than inch, a little less. You can use a thermometer or a sharp knife to check when it's done, after you take it off, let it sit on a plate for at least 5 minutes, maybe as long as ten, for the meat to reabsorb the juices, otherwise it will dry out as you eat it.

[Michael King]

Ground chuck is a pretty good basic. Best to ground it yourself. Salt and pepper folded in, as well as diced onion if you're so inclined, AND YOU SHOULD BE! Don't cook it too long, and you only need to turn it once. It's beef, so it's not going make you sick, even if you ate it raw. Don't overcook!

[Michael King]

Use a very good meat, ground up. Needs to have a little bit of fat marbled into the meat to give it some flavor. Mix an egg into the mince so when you cook the patty, it will stick together. You can also make two thin patty's, then cut a square slice of cheese into four smaller squares, make them into one stack, put between the two patties, pinch them together, use a toothpick to put a few tiny holes in the top meat patty to let the steam escape. That's a cheeseburger with built-in cheese. It's called a "juicy Lucy"