Hurricane Hamburgers

So we lost power with hurricane Irene and still don't have it back on yet. I must say, my wife and I miss cooking. Something about having hot, delicious food is the essence of good living. Wise words in Ecclesiastes 2:24 sum this point up well, "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God"

Our generator powered fridge contained some ground beef. So, naturally, we decided to grill.

My approach with something like burgers is 'simple is best'. I've seen tons of recipes where you put lots of things in the beef and it basically becomes a meatloaf burger. I think the best burger is one where you keep it simple and let the beef shine.

Ingredients:
1 lbs of ground beef (80/20, get the best quality you can, like angus)
2 tablespoon of butter
salt
pepper

Directions:

1. Form your patties. I like to use 1/4 lbs per burger, but you could make them smaller or even do sliders if you prefer. To form the patties, I like to put the meat in a bowl and then put another bowl on top. Press down and it should form a very nice, uniform patty.
2. Melt you butter.
3. Brush butter on the tops of the formed patties.
4. Add salt and pepper to your burgers. Or you can add a good quality seasoned salt. My preference is to not add a bunch of 'grill' seasonings. Again, let the burger be a burger. I want my burger to taste like good beef not some pre-mixed seasoning. Salt and pepper will do the trick.
5. Grill burgers for 5-7 minutes on each side depending on your grill and how done you want them (160 °F is food safe temperature for beef). Don't open the grill except when you turn the burgers. Don't press down or smash the patties, and don't turn them more than once! When you do turn the burgers, feel free to splash on a generous amount of melted butter again!
6. Take burger off grill, put on a bun with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Remember, just because you don't have power doesn't mean you can't eat great! I'm thinking tonight I'll get out the smoker and do some salmon!