How to grill a perfect burger

No food item I can think of heralds summer the way burgers do.

No matter what variety you prefer (beef, turkey, veggie), firing up the grill is as much a spectator sport as it is an eating one.

I have loved burgers so much for so long that I even created a week at Rockit Bar & Grill celebrating the more unusual kinds. But when it comes down to it, and I'm at home with my family, a traditional beef burger is what I always go back to.

The first thing to remember when creating the perfect burger is that it is, like anything else you cook, a sum of its ingredients.

Always use fresh ground meat, and by fresh, I mean ground that day. Find a butcher you can trust (I use Paulina Meat Market, 3501 N. Lincoln) and make sure the beef has a 20 percent fat content. The fat content is the key to grilling a delicious, juicy burger.

I also purchase Black Angus, which your purveyor can then form into hand patties for you. When burgers are machine-packed, they often contain stabilizers that affect the taste of the beef and the ability to grill adequately. And if stabilizers are used in the first place, you surely can't be certain what the quality of the meat was to begin with.

If you would like to purchase the meat freshly ground and form the patties yourself, this is absolutely acceptable. Just make sure they are 8 ounces each and 1 inch thick (this weight and width produce a perfect charred-yet-medium rare burger).

Before you throw the patties on the grill, they must be seasoned. For this, the recipe is simple: Season to taste with nine parts salt to one part pepper. Then, off to the grill!

Always make sure the grill rack is clean and well-oiled (paint the rack with a rag that has been dipped in vegetable oil). Place the rack back on the grill and wait for the flame's reaction with the oil to dissipate, about 1 minute, before placing the patties on the grate.

Cook the burgers without touching them, then turn each one-quarter turn and continue grilling for three minutes (this produces perfect grid grill marks). Flip and repeat. You will know that a burger is perfectly done when it plumps up at the end of this process.

One of the most important steps after removing a burger from the grill is to set it aside and allow it to rest for 1 minute, allowing the juices to stabilize.

Then it's time to build the sandwich.

Using a pretzel roll, top your burger with white American cheese, sliced sweet onion, iceberg lettuce (nothing has a better crunch), sliced vine-ripened tomatoes and kosher dill pickles.

I guarantee -- nothing will make you feel more like summer has arrived.

James Gottwald is the chef at Rockit Bar & Grill, 22 W. Hubbard. The restaurant's fourth annual Burgerfest runs June 1 through 5.