Summertime = Burger time!

Summer's here and the time is right, for grilling in your backyard!  I am not sure whether it is some sort of sick self-torture or what, but there is nothing that can dissuade me from getting out there in the rediculous Texas summer heat and stand over the grill...often.  This summer I started taking burgers more seriously.  I know there are a lot of purists out there who really just want a plain old burger, but I wanted to see what happened if I were to treat it with a bit more respect.  Kinda let it live up to it's potential in a way.  To that end I decided to get some ground beef (85/15) and make some patties with my own spin.  I like burgers that are juicy to the point of ruining clothing.  The good news is that the buns that Central Market and Whole Foods are selling (not the white bread stuff we all grew up with) are more than up to the task.  Especially when you toast them on the grill for a minute.  Another goal of mine was to make a burger that was tasty and moist enough that I would not want or need to put ketchup, mayo or mustard on.  Chef Randall Copeland of Restaurant Ava told me once that he adds wine to ground meats even when making burgers.  This technique comes from sausage making and ensures that the meat does not dry out or get crumbly.  I happened to have some left over Crios rose of Malbec laying around with nothing better to do than be tasty, so I added that to the ground beef along with salt, pepper, ancho powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and some minced chipotles in adobo.  To help it all stay together I cracked in one egg.  Now some people are going to say about my using so many seasonings "you must not be from (insert where you might be from here)".  That's cool.  It's totally cool to like things simple, but only if you have tried other options and decided that it's still best for you.  Otherwise you may be missing out.  For cheese, American is perfect for this, but pepperjack is also great and pumps up the spicey factor even more.  Our friend Stacie brought us some great Wisconsin cheddar and Havarty that worked out great as well.  For toppings I like sliced avocado and a little bacon.  The burger has been juicy enough that additional condiments weren't needed.