Burgers

No recipe here, but I do have a list of improvements I've made to my burgers over time:

• Fancy burger buns are not required, and in fact I've found standard store brand is best if prepared right! Shortly before assembling your burger, butter both sides of your buns completely and put them in a pan on medium-low. Leave them for a couple minutes and then check occasionally until they are golden brown. This ends up being a huge improvement in that you get a warm bun to hold, additional crispy texture, and buttery flavor. It could be that nicer buns would benefit from this as well, but I haven't felt any need to go beyond the cheap ones


• Less is more with seasoning and toppings. As far as seasoning, I used to like to mix whatever tasted good to me into the beef. My patties had salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, cayenne etc. These are all spices I like but I would end up with an unfocused mess of a burger. These days my patties get salt and pepper only. I'd also recommend seasoning the outside instead of mixing it into the ground beef to prevent the salt from drying out the meat at all. You want the inside juicy


• Too many toppings can also make a burger overwhelming and unfocused. I've learned to pick a few toppings that are staples or favorites instead of prepping everything I have on hand that I could potentially enjoy on a burger. Also with toppings, you quickly run into a situation where the burger is falling apart. You want to be able to set it down without it collapsing


• Burgers are a surprisingly good freezer food. Lately I grill 12 patties from 4 lbs of beef to about medium temperature. Anything we don't eat goes in a gallon bag in the freezer to be reheated in the cast iron later. If you don't overcook the patties the first time, they can still be juicy when you cook them up next

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