The perfect burger

Hey all - hope your holiday weekend was filled with good times and good food.

The barbecue season is in full swing and weekend dinners and parties included fresh mahi-mahi, barbecue and Mexican food - I need to get the recipe for a kicky pasta salad made with a sauce of roasted poblano chilies and cilantro - and surprisingly sweet (for this time of year) Sussex County corn. (Thanks Christine and Matt. Good times!)

Wow - the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company barbecue chicken stand off U.S. 13 in Sussex County was crazy busy this weekend and a super long line on Sunday. People can't get enough of their slightly vinegary tasting chicken. It's worth a stop if you're ever in the area.

Also, I had to feed the need for the perfect burger after thumbing through "Bobby Flay's Burgers, Fries & Shakes" (Clarkson Potter, $25.95) cookbook.

I followed the grillmaster's suggestion for the "perfect burger" - he uses 80 percent lean, 20 percent fat ground chuck - this is really important, don't get 90 percent lean meat or the burger will be too dry - salt, pepper and canola oil. That's it.

According to Bobby: "Fat carries flavor and moisture. So if you want a juicy, flavorful burger, chuck is definitely the way to go."

I dig the fact that Flay is a purist when it comes to beef burgers. He makes his patties only with ground chuck and doesn't like to mix in any extra ingredients like onions, eggs or garlic. (That's meatloaf, he says.) He saves creativity for toppings.

Flay forms the meat into 3/4-inch burgers, about 6 ounces each, and then makes a deep depression in the center with his thumb. Then he seasons both sides of each burger with salt and pepper and brushes them with canola oil. Grill about 3 to 4 minutes per side - total of 6 minutes for rare, about 7 minutes for medium-rare and 8 minutes for medium.

(If you want to cook it longer, well, you're on your own. That's just burnt meat, in my opinion. If you're adding cheese, put it on during the last minute of cooking and close the grill cover.)

Guests agreed these were very tasty, very juicy burgers. (I served the burgers on toasted potato rolls, along with big slices of sweet onion, ketchup and mustard along with sides of pickles, baked beans and homemade cole slaw. Now that's some good eats.)

This is my new simple-yet-oh-so-perfect burger recipe for the summer. Thanks Bobby.