A Taste of Hamburger Heaven

Ah, hamburgers. We can't live with them because they are cholesterol nightmares. But we love them. I love them. I grew up on hamburgers, especially the grilled ones.

In my experience, there are four ways to cook hamburger patties:

1. Charbroil or grill the patty
2. Fry the patty
3. Microwave the patty
4. Bake the patty

Maybe you have never cooked a hamburger in an oven? Or maybe you used the broiler to do that. I have both baked and broiled hamburgers. I much prefer the broiler to baking, but almost any kind of dry heat gets the job done.

Microwaving hamburgers is kind of messy and the patties come out looking like grey lumps of mushy meat. Some people grill the patties just enough to char them and then microwave them but I'm not fond of microwave hamburgers. The closest I have come to liking a microwave hamburger was to reheat a frozen burger patty, but that is not always a good meal. Actually, it's rarely an acceptable meal (although I have to admit I like the microwavable White Castle burgers).

You can deep fry a hamburger patty but I have been told that is not a good idea. Instead they should only be fried in shallow pans. Some hamburger cookers will drain the grease out for you. The less grease you leave in the burger the better.

I sometimes use extra, extra lean meat for my hamburgers. These make excellent burgers when you use thin patties. If you make thick patties you don't want to use lean meat because you have to burn it in order to cook it all the way through.

Large, wide, thin patties make great burgers if you don't have any buns and have to use bread. When I was in college I used bread quite often. Whole grain breads worked really well.

But all burger lovers are devoted to charbroiled or grilled burgers. Why do we love the char? I don't know. These burgers can be juicy or dry, thick or think; they soak up the heat, drip the blood and fat, and stay true to their nature (unless you burn them).

Some people love cheeseburgers. I can eat cheeseburgers but most of them are done poorly. If you wait until the last minute to drape the cheese over the burger you end up with a floppy piece of cheese on your burger. But if you add the cheese too soon you melt the cheese away.

I was once treated to a charbroiled cheeseburger where the guy cooking the meat rolled his cheese into the patties. I did not like that.

Hamburgers are usually made from beef but I have enjoyed hamburgers made from vegetables, pork, salmon, turkey, and bison. Bison burgers are the best. Because I normally eat my beef burgers done "medium well" I usually get my bison burgers done "medium". Bison is an incredible meat. I just love it.

If you are worried about the unhealthy side of beef, consider eating some hamburger alternatives -- at least once in a while. Salmon patty burgers can be delicious or overwhelming. I think it comes down to the seasoning. You need something to neutralize or take the edge off that strong salmon flavor.

The next time you get the midnight munchies, think about eating a healthier hamburger. Your body just may thank you.

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