by Rex Trulove

Created on: October 17, 2008   Last Updated: December 10, 2011

There are a great many and memorable ways to make a good burger. Excellent burgers can also be created. Perfection is a little harder to achieve. It is still possible to get close to the perfect burger. Friends and family often have a tendency of wanting to come back many times for the perfect burgers.

Meat

The biggest consideration of all is the meat used. Most people use ground beef, and sometimes they even add a little ground pork. This can lead to an excellent burger, but it usually falls quite a bit short of perfection.

For the best possible results, start with ground venison or elk. If a beef-like flavor is desired, ground buffalo can be used rather than beef. Not only does the meat have more flavor, it is naturally lower in fat. This makes it a lot healthier as well as better tasting. With the right meat, the first step has been taken toward making the perfect burger.

Buns

The buns are also important. Again, for very good burgers, large sesame seed buns will work. For the perfect burger, though, the buns should be homemade. Sourdough buns are a superb choice.

Toppings

The key is that the fresher, the better. Tomatoes, celery, onions, and lettuce out of the garden is better than store bought, which has been in transit for at least many hours before reaching the store. Morel mushrooms are better than store bought, too, even if they are frozen and thawed out. They still have much more flavor than button mushrooms. Fresh morels are better still.

Note that the mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions should be sliced just before using them, for the freshest taste possible. The same is true of dicing the celery. The keyword, when possible, is 'fresh'.

This isn't as true of the cheese, since it must be processed into cheese and aged to begin with. However, the favorite cheese should be cut and used from the block or round rather than buying it pre-sliced.

The recipe (makes 2 large burgers):

1 pound ground meat
2 stalks celery
1 large white onion
Several leaves of fresh leaf lettuce
1/2 cup olive oil
1-2 eggs (preferably brown)
8 strips lean bacon
1/4 pound cheese of your choice
1/2 pound mushrooms
1 large slicing tomato
Homemade catsup, mustard, mayonnaise, and zucchini sweet relish
salt, pepper, basil, garlic powder and oregano to taste 

In a large bowl, place the ground meat. Add the egg and olive oil and mix will by hand. (Venison and elk are very lean. These ingredients help hold it together while it is cooking.) Fine dice the celery, add it to the meat, and mix it in.

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