How To Grill Hamburgers

• It's hamburger night in Baton Rouge.
• The LSU Tigers are in baseball post season.
• And we're celebrating.

Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, Al Roker - these are just a few names in the BBQ and grilling realm. Many times these guys or other cooking shows will show you grilling recipes using a gas grill. For over 30 years, my husband has only used a little barrel shaped grilled called an Old Smokey.

We currently have Old Smokey grills in three sizes: small, large, and extra large.

For many years we used regular briquette charcoal and lighter fluid. What a blessing to get a natural food supermarket in town. We discovered real hardwood charcoal that is made from the scrapes of wood from furniture makers.

Natural hardwood charcoal is so much lighter than pressed together charcoal briquettes and much better for the environment and your food.

Another change we made, we stopped using lighter fluid. Think about it. You're putting lighter fluid on chemically made briquettes and then cooking your very expensive steak on something you use to light a candle or cigarettes. Gross!

We started using a charcoal chimney. A charcoal chimney is a piece of sheet metal formed into a cylinder with a handle and disk with holes to hold the charcoal. The charcoal is poured into the cylinder and two pieces of newspaper is placed in the bottom of the chimney. The crumpled newspaper is lighted, which in turn heats up the charcoal.

In about 30 minutes, you're ready to cook on a natural hardwood fire. It's kind of like cooking on a campfire, but it is much more convenient. Who wants to eat food off a gas grill? You're just gassing your food. I don't cook my broccoli directly over the gas stove burner. I put the broccoli in a pot.

I'm getting hungry. Come on and let's get to grilling!

• 1 quality grill (Old Smokey is our favorite)
• 1 bag of All Natural Hardwood Charcoal
• 1 bag of mesquite or hickory chips
• 1 charcoal chimney (available at any store selling grills or grilling supplies)
• 2 sheets of black & white newspaper 1 long grill flipper 1 grill brush (for cleaning the grill)

• Ingredients:
• 1 - 2 lbs Lean Ground Round or Sirloin (about ¼ lb per person)
• 1 bottle Smokey Maple BBQ sauce
• 1 Sweet Onion
• 1 Ripe Tomato
• Cheddar cheese slices, Dill pickle slices or relish, Shredded Lettuce, Ketchup, Mustard, and Mayo
• Seasoning - Salt, Creole Seasoning, & Garlic Powder

Start preparing your grill about an hour before you want to eat. Scrape the grill with a grill brush to remove any residue from prior cooking.

In a small bowl, soak a handful of mesquite or hickory chips until ready to start cooking.

Loosely crumple 2 sheets of newspaper (the black & white section) and place under the Charcoal Chimney. Place the Charcoal Chimney on the grill surface. Fill will charcoal.

Light the newspaper through the holes on the bottom of Charcoal Chimney. Wait for charcoal to catch onto the flame. If the flames do not catch on the charcoal, repeat the newspaper step.

In about 15-30 minutes the coals are ready for cooking. Pick up the Charcoal Chimney using the handy handle and use an oven mitt if needed. Remember all the heat is concentrated in the chimney.

Carefully remove the grill and set aside. Pour the charcoal into the well of the grill. Spread around if needed with grilling tongs or spatula.

Spray your grill with cooking spray (away from the flame) to prevent the meat from sticking. Place back on the grill base.

Prepare the hamburger patties by evenly dividing the meat. Either form the patties by hand or use a hamburger press. I've had Tupperware hamburger press for 20 years. Do not overly handle the ground meat to prevent your hamburgers from being tough. Season with Sea Salt, Creole Seasoning, Garlic Powder and top with a Maple Bar-B-Que sauce. A dash of Tabasco wouldn't hurt either.

Place your prepared meat evenly around the grill surface. Close the damper and put the top on.

For ¼ lb hamburgers, cook on one side for 5-8 minutes. Remove the cover and flip the hamburger with a grilling spatula. Drizzle on BBQ sauce. Cover and cook again for 5-8 minutes.

For melted cheese, place slices directly on the hamburgers and put the grill cover back on for about 1 minute.

Remove the cover and place the hamburger patties on a clean platter. Never use the same platter as used for the raw patties without a through cleaning. Add burgers to a toasty bun and pile on your favorite condiments.