It was a beautiful Saturday this weekend. Clear and pretty warm, but still cool in the shade. It is still spring after all. But nonetheless perfect weather to fire up the grill and have an American classic. And judging by the empty spot in the refrigerated case at the Giant, I wasn’t the only one who had a hankering for fresh, juicy hamburgers this weekend.

I learned a lot of things from my Dad, including some tips on making a good burger. His biggest tip: make them thick. There is nothing like biting into a burger that barely fits into your mouth. If I wanted a thin burger, I would just go to McDonalds. Now what really helps me make a good thick burger is my Tupperware burger press that my Mother got for me. I looked at the Tupperware site, and I couldn’t find it, so they may not make them any more. But take a look here and you can see what I’m talking about. It’s basically a form that you put the meat in and a handle to press it into the form. The Tupperware set is really nice because they also come with lids so you can make your burgers up ahead of time and store them in forms until ready to use. But I prefer to make mine fresh.

With the help of Margaret, I’ve developed a special twist for my burgers. I add Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce to my meat before forming them. You can add it to taste, but I usually use like 1/4 cup per pound. I also like to toss in some freshly chopped garlic if we have it, and always toss in some freshly chopped onion.

Now you can’t just toss these onto the grill. Make sure to pre-heat your grill on high to get the grates very hot. When just about ready to put your burgers on, turn it down a shade to about medium or medium high. What the pre-heating does is get the grates really hot so they will sear the burgers and leave nice lines on them. That is usually much easier to do with steaks, but (if you are good) it can be done with burgers as well. Once on the grill, take your time cooking them. You want to make sure they are cooked all the way through, but take care not to burn them. I used to like mine nice and medium, but after all the warnings on eating not fully cooked meat, I always cook my burgers until the juice comes out clear when pressed on.

Just before taking off the grill, I like to put some cheese on mine and let it melt. It just makes the burgers so much better…

You can also optionally toast your buns. I usually don’t do this as it can be a bit more work. Just butter up the insides of the bun (that’s the work part…) and throw them on an open part of the grill for like a minute or two until they are nice and toasty. Adds that “profession burger joint” flair to your service.

Now everyone has their own way of topping their burger. This is a very personal choice and you should let people do what they want. You’re best bet is to just prepare some toppings and set them out for people to pick. Some things to have on hand would include: lettuce, tomato (thick slices), onion (thick slices), ketchup, (yellow) mustard, Mayo, salt, pepper, and pickles. All pretty standard toppings and you are sure to please any crowd with those choices. If you wanted to go more gourmet, you can get things like bacon (cooked, of course), crumbled blue cheese, barbecue sauce, guacamole, jalapenos, or even onion rings.

Now if you want a nice summer side to go with you burgers, grab some ears of corn. Husk them and remove the silks so all you have left are the ears. Following the same pre-heating instructions as for the burgers, but turn the heat way down after pre-heated. And just place the ears right on the grates. In about 10 minutes you will have the most delicious (and easy!) corn you have ever had. One word of caution: it is really easy to burn the corn, so make sure to turn it every 2 minutes or so to keep that from happening. A light, spotty char on the corn is what you are looking for. Serve it up with some butter, salt and pepper and you are ready to go!

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