The best burger recipe starts with cooking the beef.  If the meat isn’t cooked properly the burger will never be good.  Ever.

You would never build a house without the foundation being set properly, would you?  Exactly.

I’ve managed a number of high end burger restaurants and steakhouses over the years and there isn’t much difference in how they all have cooked their patties.  After all of my experience I’ve been able to compile the knowledge into a single recipe.

Start with freshly ground beef.  The lean to fat ratio should be between 70/30 and 80/20.  The more fat, the juicier the burger is going to be.  Get the patty and round it into a half pound ball (use a scale) and run it through a burger press for even thickness.

Once your patties are ready lay them out on a hot grill.  It’s important that the grate of the grill is hot so you can get the restaurant style char marks.  After the patty is on the grill season it with an 80/20 blend of salt and pepper, go a little heavier than you think since much of it will drip off after the burger is flipped.

From there-

• Give the patty a 30 degree turn after a minute and a half for the diamond char mark
• Flip the patty once the blood starts pooling on the top of it
• After a minute and a half on the second side give it another 30 degree turn and add the cheese
• Once another minute and a half passes the burger should be right at medium rare, pull it or leave it until desired wellness (it’s about another 30 seconds for each stage)

That’s how the finest burger restaurants cook their burgers, so why wouldn’t you want to cook yours the same?

From there you can dress it however you want.  The patty is already going to be so full of juice and flavor that it’s hard to screw it up!