The Secret of a Perfect Burger

The most important rule in making a juicy, moist hamburger is to handle the meat gently and lightly while you mix and form it. If you squeeze, press and pat the meat roughly, you will have dry, tough, firm meat when the burger is cooked.

Sometimes people mix and shape the patties gently, then put them into the skillet and keep pressing them down with the spatula until every drop of moisture is gone. Light, gentle treatment of ground beef seems to be a secret that most people don’t know.

Another helpful tip: Buy bright red ground beef, because dark, almost purple ground beef is older. There should also be bits of white sprinkled throughout the beef. This is fat, which gives flavor and moistness to the ground beef.

Finally, a perfect hamburger is one that is eaten while the hamburger patty is hot. Have all the condiments sitting ready on the buns, so you can plop the cooked hamburger in the bun and start eating.

A good variation on this classic hamburger is the “sit-down supper” hamburger. This is a knife-and-fork hamburger. Vegetables, salad and meat all sit on half a bun (the other half is dipped into pan juices and eaten as bread with the hamburger). A handful of watercress is the first layer on the bun, the sauteed mushrooms and onions are next and the hamburger is on top. This preparation took me 15 minutes.

HAMBURGERS

Don’t make these so thick that they won’t fit into your mouth when they’re inside the buns. It is no fun to fight with your hamburger while trying to eat it. And be sure to have all your condiments out and ready. If possible, spread (or have the other guests spread) the condiments on the buns before adding the hamburgers.

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1 pound ground beef

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon oil

4 hamburger buns

Optional condiments: Mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, onion slices, tomato slices, cheese slices, pickles or relish, iceberg lettuce

Sprinkle ground beef with salt, pepper and water and gently mix into meat by hand. Don’t squeeze or press, just use fingertips to lightly mix. Divide meat evenly into 4 portions. Gently pat meat into 4 (3-inch-diameter) patties.

Put large skillet on medium heat. After 1 or 2 minutes, add oil, tilting skillet so oil coats bottom. Fry hamburger patties in skillet about 3 minutes. Turn and fry 2 minutes on second side. Place on buns, dress with condiments and eat while hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving, without condiments, contains about:

385 calories; 603 mg sodium; 64 mg cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 19 grams protein; 0 fiber.

SIT-DOWN SUPPER HAMBURGER

6 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, chopped

3/4 pound mushrooms, sliced

Salt

1 pound ground beef

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup water

4 hamburger buns

2 bunches watercress, leaves only

Place large skillet over medium heat. After 1 or 2 minutes, add butter and tilt skillet so butter coats entire bottom. Add onion and mushrooms. Salt lightly to taste. Cook over medium-low heat until onions are soft and mushrooms slightly darkened, 4 or 5 minutes. Remove, using slotted spoon, and set aside.

Sprinkle ground beef with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and gently mix into meat by hand. Don’t squeeze or press, just use fingertips to lightly mix. Divide meat evenly into 4 portions. Gently pat meat into 4 (3-inch-diameter) patties. Fry in skillet about 3 minutes. Turn and fry 2 minutes on second side.

Remove patties and set aside. Add water, turn heat up high, stir and let bubble about 1 minute. Dip hamburger bun halves in water and pan juices.

Put 2 bun halves on each serving plate. On top of 1 bun half, put 1/4 of watercress. Divide mushroom mixture evenly and spread over over each watercress layer. Set hamburger patty on top. Garnish with sprig of fresh watercress on top. Serve at once.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

411 calories; 835 mg sodium; 110 mg cholesterol; 35 grams fat; 7 grams carbohydrates; 18 grams protein; 0.92 gram fiber.