Episode 2: Burgers and Perfection

Is perfection achievable? I certainly thought so when I created My Perfect Burger. Then something happened; I improved on it. That made me think, is perfection truly achievable or are we never meant to achieve perfection? What if perfection is a fluid concept that evolves as our tastes do? 

I published the recipe blog on August 29, 2019. The recipe was my most frequented food-related content on my website, prior to transferring over to this dedicated site.

You can read the original post here.

I had the idea to experiment with my seasoning for this recipe after reading about how Shake Shack seasons their burgers and remembering that McDonald’s puts sugar in their fries, which makes them craveable.

I added garlic and sugar after coarse sea salt and pepper. The added seasoning elevated the burger and added another layer of flavor of the meat. My family and I loved the burgers even more.

The fact that I improved on the burger made me wonder if they were ever perfect to begin with and if they are perfect now. Could I improve on them further?

That made me wonder about the concept of perfection and what I came to realize is that perfection is fluid. Something may be perfect for a time and as our tastes or preferences evolve, so does our idea of perfection.

I learned a valuable philosophy lesson from a burger.

Here are some tips for grilling a perfectly-cooked burger:

• Have all of your prep work completed and all the burger components ready before you start cooking.

• Know where the hot spots and cool spots are on your grill and use them accordingly.

• NEVER press your burgers with the spatula. This dries the patties and makes the burger less-juicy.