Secret of the Best Burger from Food & Wine Magazine

So I've decided for each day of the week I'm going to create a different topic so all of my readers know what interests them most and when they can come back for that specific topic.  Mondays will be recipes day.  I know what you may be thinking but Christina, this is an interior design blog, but I am also a big foodie and watch and keep up with everything related to food, wine and the trends related to this topic. 

Today I was reading an article in Food & Wine magazine that gives the secret of the best burger which right now with summer starting seems to be an appropriate topic.  The article that was written by Daniel Gritzer from Food & Wine caught my eye because the claim for the most super juicy burger is that a griddle beats a grill hands down.  WHAT?  Now that blew me away as I always thought the complete opposite, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. 

Your supposed to be able to get a more even sear and the fat will baste instead of dripping through your grill grate...hmmmm....sure makes sense doesn't it?  Adam Fleisheman shares his burger recipes for this article just to prove the amazing difference between grill & griddle debate.  He suggests for the best results put the griddle on top of the grill.  Here is a burger recipes provided by Adam that will knock your socks off:

1.  Umami Burgers with Port and Stilton-takes 40 minutes and makes 4 burgers:
      1 cup ruby port
      2 pounds mixed ground beef brisket, skirt steak and sirloin steak (20% fat)
      Salt & freshly ground pepper
      1/2 cup Stilton cheese (3 onces), softened Umami dust, for sprinkling (optional)
      4 Brioche hamburger buns, buttered & toasted
To make the Umami dust, set a spice grinder to pulse, 3 tablespoons bonito flakes, 1/2 ounce crumbled dried klombu and 1/2 ounce dried shiitake nushrooms into a powder. 

 1. In a small saucepan cook the port over moderate heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons about 15 minutes. 
 2.  Heat a cast-iron griddle until very hot.  Form the meat into 4 X 1 inch patties without packing too tightly.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  Add the patties to the griddle, cover with a roasting pan and cook over moderately high heat for 4 minutes, until very crusty.  Flip the patties and cook, uncovered for 1 minute, top with the Stilton cheese and cook uncovered for 1 minute.  Transfer the patties to a plate and sprinkle with the umami dust, let rest for 2 minutes and set on the buns.  Drizzle with the reduced port, top with the buns and serve. 

Photo Credit Marcus Nilsson