@margo,
Well as Elstud (hubby) would say, real men don't eat beetroot.
But we do make world class legendary hamburgers at our house, and it isn't rocket science.
1. Start with decent ground beef - fresh/unfrozen is best but you can get by with frozen if you absolutely have to.
2. Mix salt and black pepper to taste into the meat. Don't over or under season though.
3. Make patties of the seasoned meat about 1/2 inch thick if you like thinner burgers - 3/4 inch thick if you want more robust. Make the patties just about the same size as the cut surface area of your bun--the meat will shrink a bit when cooking.
4. Grill meat, turning frequently, to preferred doneness--medium to medium well when there isn't any pink left in the middle is the safest and personally I think tastes better than too rare or too well done. If you want cheeseburgers, add a slice of cheese to the top of the meat for the last few minutes.
5. While grilling meat, also lightly butter the cut surface area of the buns and toast on the grill along with the meat. You don't want these really dark but just toasty and very slightly crunchy.
6. Also have crisp iceberg lettuce leaves, sliced fresh tomatoes, thin sweet onion slices, pickles (if you like them--we prefer bread & butter), mayo or mustard or mix these together to make a nice spread to slather on the toasted buns. Add a little ketchup to the spread if you're a ketchup lover.
7. Put cooked patty on one hot toasted bun half and top it with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles etc, enclose with the other bun half and serve and enjoy with melon and/or chips and/or soda and/or iced tea.
I guarantee you the best burgers you've ever had. Simple but exquisitely prepared is sometims the best.
