Cooked to medium rare. Juicy. Toasted bun. Lettuce, tomato, cheese, and maybe even a fried egg.
An overcooked, dry burger is just not edible for me.
Ruins it: When the gimmick of the burger is some “special sauce” or house ketchup (and/or they put pickles on it yuck)
Makes it: When the flavorings, seasonings, ingredients are mixed into the ground beef before grilling
“Too much” ruins a burger. If I take a bite and a bunch of crap squeezes out of the backside of the bun, it’s a problem.
I do pickles and onions only when i want a beefy burger without all the stuff.
Nice pickles are necessary for me (my partner and I make our own pickles, mmmmmm)
Onions I love, but I MUCH prefer them to be caramelized. It just takes me like an hour or two. But mmmmmmm
My husband likes grilled onions, but I prefer the crunch of raw. I love a really good pickle. We’re growing cucumbers right now and I would love to learn to pickle. Would you like to share a recipe?
A good cheese can make a burger, American is not a good cheese. Pickles ruin everything.
The trick is the balance, between meat, seasoning, vegetables and to a small degree, sauce and seasoning. E.g. putting too much meat on it and less than 3 out of 4: salad, onion, tomato, pickle, would be too little. Ingredient quality matters a lot. Cheese is a nice bonus. Variations according to taste are “obvious”, hot or mild sauce, different veggies…
It shouldn’t be uncomfortable to eat, but I’m also disappointed if it’s too small. Imo, you should need both hands.