Before you can say you’ve made the perfect beef burger, you should understand that there are really two different types of burgers; those which are thick and those which are thin. Each of them can be perfect within their own right, but depending upon the type of burger you’re making there are a number of differences that you’ll have to take into account.
When cooking the burger, which ever type you’re making, you should try to avoid flipping the burger too often. Ideally, you would limit yourself to one turn on each side. The temperature for a thick burger should be slightly lower than for a thin one, because you’ll want to leave enough time for the insides to be cooked, although this can change depending upon what level of rareness you want for your burger. If you want to turn it into a cheese burger, then after the first flip you should place your cheese on top of the burger and, unless you’re grilling it, cover the lid of your griddle/frying pan and allow the cheese to melt.
The type of bun you use and where exactly you cut the bun in half is also very important to creating a perfect burger bun. If you’re cooking a thin burger you’ll also want a comparatively thinner bun; the ideal height of a bun is around 1.5-2.5 times the thickness of a thick burger, while for a thin burger you’ll want anywhere from 2-3 times the thickness. The bun should also be of fairly thick bread as well, as if it is too thin then it will disintegrate when eaten. The ideal width to cut a bun is to divide its width into ten. From these tenths, you want to cut it so that there are 6 tenths on top and 4 on the bottom parts of the bun; so the top should be slightly larger than the bottom.
After this you should you should lay the burger directly onto the bun and add whatever garnishes and toppings that you want. Some good options are burger sauce, ketchup, onions, lettuce, mustard, bacon and pickles.