How to Stack a Hamburger With All the Fixings

The quest for the perfect burger has gone on for decades, billions of consumer dollars are spent every year in the name of the quest. But making the perfect burger with all the fixings is easily done in your own kitchen, but make no mistake, it is an art and one false move and you have a pile of meat with a salad on top between two pieces of bread.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Grill or a pan (my money is on the grill but that is a personal choice)
• USDA Prime Gound Beef
• Fixings: Lettuce, Tomatoes, Pickles, Onions; whatever you deem worthy enough to lay upon your beef.
• Some sort of topping, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayo, "Special Sauce" aka 1000 Island Dressing, whatever tickles your taste buds.
• Some sort of Bread vehicle.

1. First things first, the beef. Now some people are of the mind that ground beef is ground beef. I am not one of those people. I spend my money on the ground sirloin because I worship the burger and will settle for no less. If you choose to go with whatever is on sale, well, they are your poor, deprived little taste buds, not mine.
   Once you have your selected beef you must season. This has been debated by back yard scholors and corporations over the years, but for my money I go with a liberal dose of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, a dash a of garlic salt and two shakes of worchestershire sauce.
2. Next shape your pattie about as big as your palm and about 1 inch thick, it will shrink during cooking, so you will end up with the perfect size- you could go bigger if you want but this works for me. Cook for 5-7 minutes on each side for medium over high heat,less for rare and 7-9 minutes for well. If you are going to add cheese, add it in the last few minutes of cooking on side 2.
3. While your burgers are cooking you can prepare your buns to recieve the goods. If you chose wisely, you will have a bun that is both sturdy and soft. I like a good sourdough. You will want to cover both sides of the bun with your topping of choice. I go with a thin coating of mayo- it doesn't interfere with the taste but creates a good moisture barrier.
4. Now we build! Here is the order I think works and trust me it works. First your bottom bun with a thin coat of whatever, next the burger, now place the smallest of your fixings on the burger, I put pickle slices, then your most moist fixing- the tomatoe, it goes here because you will have the moisture barrier from your first topping and the rest of the toppings above so you won't have a mush ball when your done. Nnext comes the onions, lettuce and the top bun. You now have a work of art in your hands, a delicious and juicy work of art. Don't thank me with your mouth full- that's gross. Enjoy!

Tips & Warnings

• You want to get 80-85% lean beef, if you go too lean, you will end up with a dry burger.
• You want to get good quality fixings because your eating them raw and if they are low quality you will taste it.
• Remove your burger from the cooking vessel to a plate so your bun isn't completely covered in grease.
• Resist the urge to press on your pattie with your spatula lest you squeeze out all the juicy goodness.
• Never return cooked burgers to the plate you used when they were raw- e-coli is bad news my friends.
• Make sure you lightly grease your grill or pan with vegetable oil before cooking- there is nothing worse than have your burger break apart due to stickage.