Celebrating the all-American hamburger

Hot dogs, baseball, apple pie. Yep, those items symbolize America, yet when it comes to celebrating the red, white and blue with a summer cookout you're more likely to find burgers than hot dogs sizzling over the fire.

According to Palatine-based Weber's annual survey of grilling habits, Fourth of July remains the most popular holiday for grilling, and burgers top the list as the most grilled food.

"We are a country largely built on beef," says Jamie Purviance, author of this year's "Weber's Way to Grill." "A hamburger is an inexpensive, portable way to eat beef. Just as our nation evolved into a melting pot of cultures, so too has the burger evolved.

"The hamburger is an American icon," Purviance says. "It has become a vehicle for a number of other flavors and other influences.

"Just as our demographics have changed and become more varied, the hamburger welcomes great flavors and cooking traditions."

He says ground beef lends itself to variation.

"Ground beef is very receptive, easy to incorporate other ingredients," he says.

Green chiles pureed and mixed into the meat bring New Mexican flavors to the table; pepper jack cheese and salsa give a burger a Tex-Mex flair. Stuff a burger with parmesan and garlic and it takes on Italian notes; season with coriander and top with a cucumber sauce and you've got a sandwich with Middle Eastern influence.

Purviance says that if you add grated onion, roasted peppers or other moisture-holding ingredients, the burger will take longer to cook.

Grill guru and Food Network personality Bobby Flay shies away from mixing ingredients with the meat.

For seasoning, Flay sprinkles the outside with kosher salt and ground black pepper, sometimes a spice rub, too. But he never mixes into the meat any spices, condiments, onions or fillers, such as bread crumbs. Do that, and you've got meatloaf, he tells The Associated Press.

No matter what flavor profile you select, Purviance and Flay say better burgers start with the beef.

Most chefs agree that ground chuck, usually labeled as 80 percent lean and 20 percent fat, is the way to go. That's because fat equals flavor and moistness. Going with anything leaner could produce a dry and tasteless burger.

To further ensure success at your weekend cookout, start with a clean grate and medium- to medium-high heat (if you place your hand 4 to 5 inches from the grate, you shouldn't be able to keep it there longer than 3 seconds) and avoid the following common mistakes:

Making meat balls: "The number one mistake people make is they start out with balls of meat," Purviance says. Make patties about 3/4-inch thick and wide enough for the bun. "There's nothing worse than biting into a burger and getting all bun."

Flay takes the extra step of making a deep thumbprint in the center of each burger. This helps keep the burger from swelling into a football-like shape while cooking.

Fiddling around: Flip the burgers only once to give the heat a chance to form a good crust on the outside.

"Every time you put the burger on the grate, it's a new opportunity for it to stick and tear," Purviance says. "Once the burger (surface) caramelizes, it will release on its own."

And as tempting as it is, says Flay, don't press down on the burgers with your spatula; it not only squeezes out the flavorful juices, but it also can cause dangerous flare-ups.

You can use a spatula to gently lift up an edge to see if the burger releases easily. When juices are pooling on the top, Purviance says, that's an indication that the burger is heated all the way through. Federal guidelines suggest cooking hamburgers to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees (medium-well) for complete safety.

• Associated Press contributed to this article.

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