excellent homemade hamburgers

These are generous, juicy burgers. Dress them up right with a good roll and condiments, and you’ll eat way better than you would at most burger joints. Keep some uncooked patties, well wrapped, in the freezer so you’ll always have a fall-back plan for dinner. Look for chuck labeled 80/20 or 20% fat. It makes the juiciest, tastiest burgers. Any leaner and you’ll be compromising the flavor. The onion is added for flavor more than texture and should be minced quite fine so it cooks at the same speed as the meat. Ground beef should be cooked all the way through until no longer pink inside. You can check by cutting into a patty with a sharp knife, or if you want to be absolutely sure, use an instant-read thermometer, slid several inches into the burger from the side (not the top). For beef burgers, it should register 160°F.

1 pound ground beef chuck

1/3 cup very finely minced red or yellow onion

½ teaspoon salt (plus extra for the pan)

Freshly ground black pepper

4 burger buns (optional)

Your favorite condiments (any combination of mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F or preheat the broiler (this is for the buns).

2. In a large bowl, combine the beef, onion, salt, and about 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Use your hands to mix gently—just enough to combine. (Don’t squeeze the mixture through your fingers. It will toughen the burgers.) Rinse your hands, wet your hands with cold water, and gently form 4 patties, each about ½-inch thick.

3. Place a large (10-to 12-inch) heavy skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, turn the heat to medium-high, sprinkle a little salt into the pan to make a light, even layer, and add the patties directly on top of the salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, until deeply browned on the bottom (use a metal spatula to peek, disturbing the burgers as little as possible). If the burgers appear to be browning too quickly, reduce the heat to medium.

4. Use the metal spatula to carefully loosen each burger and flip it over. Cook on the second side for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink in the middle and the bottom surfaces are nicely browned.

5. Meanwhile, split the buns, put them on a baking sheet, cut side up, and heat them in the oven or slide them under the broiler to toast the cut sides. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.

6. Spread the cut sides of the buns with some of your chosen condiments (the spreadable ones), put a burger patty on each bun bottom, and top with your other selected condiments (the sliced items) and a bun top. Serve right away.

BURGER BASICS

When making burgers, curb your enthusiasm. Handle the meat as little as possible, mixing it just until everything is combined. The more you work it, the tougher it will be. Shape burgers by forming flat disks, rather than making balls and smashing them down.

Resist the temptation to fiddle with burgers as they cook. They’ll form a beautiful crust when simply left alone, so avoid moving them around in the pan. Peek at the undersides as un-invasively and infrequently as possible. And despite what you see short-order cooks doing, never press patties down with a spatula in the pan. That’s a technique used to speed up cooking, but it toughens and compacts the meat, and squeezes out moisture you don’t want to lose.

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GET CREATIVE

• Add 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce to the mixture for a tangier, “steakier” taste.
• If you’re craving Asian flavor, add 2 tablespoons bottled teriyaki sauce to the meat and replace the onion with finely minced scallions.
• For cheeseburgers, lay a slice of cheese over each patty as soon as you flip it. You can cover the skillet with a lid for a minute toward the end of cooking to help the cheese melt.
• Top with any of the classic restaurant add-ons, like bacon, crumbled bleu cheese, sautéed mushrooms, thinly sliced red onions (raw or sautéed), avocado, guacamole (store-bought or homemade—see Chapter 8: Party Snacks), salsa, or pesto (store-bought or homemade—see Chapter 8: Party Snacks).