The perfect burger

BACK at Silverton's house, the guests had arrived and she stood half swathed in an apron, ready to make patties. "For four people, you can just divide it," she said taking the bag. "For more, you want to measure the meat." We were 12, so she began taking small amounts of meat and setting them on a scale. "The perfect size is eight ounces," she said. Forming the burgers in a quick, light, slapping motion, she made them thick, nearly 2 inches high, so they wouldn't overcook, with rounded edges.

"With lean meat, the burgers don't hold together," she said. "Fat makes them easier to form. Feel this," she said, suddenly pressing a wad of raw ground beef in my palm. "It comes right together but you don't have a palm full of greasiness."

Aha. That is why the butcher expected she would want the fat and meat coarse ground. A fine ground would produce a smeary mess.

Second only to her fearlessness with fat proved her use of salt. As she formed burgers, she seasoned them, first going over them with a generous shower of kosher salt, about one-fourth teaspoon per burger, then passing again with six to eight turns each with a pepper grinder. Same treatment each side.

She uses the kosher salt because of the texture, Silverton said. "It handles well in the fingertips." She doesn't need a shaker and has more control. "It's important to do this only just before cooking them," she added, still salting. "Otherwise the salt will draw the moisture out of the meat."

Once she was ready to cook, only the cheeses and buns left the condiment table as she took up position over the barbecue. Every chef has an inner drill sergeant, and the better the chef, the less inhibited he or she is. In fact, Silverton might have two of them. She asked us to call our desired doneness-levels and cheese choices as she began cooking. As a tribe, we were medium-rare, Gruyere, but a sophisticate among us requested "\o7trois fromages\f7."

Even working over a hot open grill, as a sharp sizzle rose, Silverton seemed to come alive. "\o7That's \f7the sound you want," she said. A hot grill or a hot pan is crucial. Otherwise, low heat will require longer time in the pan, resulting in an overcooked burger.

For the barbecue chef working the fire, she added, the most important accouterments weren't a hat or apron, but a long-handled spatula and tongs, and long gloves.