This is my first attempt at an instructable so be gentle with the criticism. I am, after all, a delicate flower.

I want to do an instructable in as many categories as I can so I figured i would start at the top with food> bbq and grilling by sharing how I make my burgers.

My way isnt that out of the ordinary, most of my stuff came from someone else, but I didn't see them represented here in any aspect, so here we go

Off the top I just want to say this is only the way I make my patties, nothing else. I also intentionally leave out quantities of ingredients so those can vary from batch to batch depending on how many are being served and taste.

Step 1: Gather Ingredients

1. Meat. (duh) I like to use the lowest fat content I can since I occasionally like to take care of my heart and I don't mind spending the extra money and the taste difference between 80/20 and 97/3 is negligible.

2. onion (white or purple)
3. Bell pepper (green)
4. Crackers, Crushed (Club or Ritz)
5. seasoning (seasoning salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder etc)
6. Worcestershire sauce (opt. Teriyaki, just not at the same time as the Worcestershire)

Step 2: Mix

Pretty simple step here. Get a big bowl and put the ground beef in and break it up.

next I add the onion and bell pepper, but rather than dicing like most people do, i run the two across my cheese grater into fine shavings. this creates a much more even mix and alleviates my pet peeve of chomping into a big chunk of onion or bell pepper.

After that I'll crush up the crackers and mix them in. 10 crackers for a lb (2.2 kg) of beef should do. these help seal in the juices for better taste and juicier burgers

Now Ill splash in some seasonings to taste. I will pretty much always add seasoning salt and garlic powder, and then whatever I arbitrarily deem sounds good at that very moment. sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.

One more ingredient that is optional since some dont care much for it, is Worcestershire sauce or teriyaki sauce. Just be careful with the worcesteshire as it can get over powering very quick

Other things you could add would be cheese (either cubes or shredded) and bacon bits. I dont add these since i prefer them whole on top of the burger.

Now everything is in the bowl, roll up your sleeves and stuff your (hopefully clean) hands in the mix and turn, toss, and knead until an even mix is achieved.

Step 3: Make Patties

I would suggest using something such as a measuring cup to make evenly sized and consistent patties, but just pulling a handful out will work just fine, too.

One big thing to be sure of is to make the patties very flat and larger in diameter than the bun you will be using as they will contract during grilling. I say flat though, because on more than one occasion I have ended up with what more resembled giant meatballs. They tasted fine, but we're making burgers, not meatball sandwiches here.

That's it. Cook and enjoy. Yum.