Hi, I'm Elias Iglesias, Executive Chef of Morton's Steakhouse.

And today, I'm going to show you how to prepare and grill

the perfect burger.

First, you start with 2 lbs. of freshly ground sirloin.

You're going to add 1/2 of a cup of tomato juice.

And that's what makes the burger nice and juicy.

You're going to add 1 egg to keep it from falling apart...

...1 teaspoon of salt... 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

That should make about four 8-oz. burgers.

Once you have the burger, it's very important --

-- and it's something a lot of people don't do --

is to cut some grid marks into it.

This is going to keep the burger from turning into a meat ball

when you put it on the grill.

On charcoal grill, you want to make sure

that you light the coals about 45 minutes before you need them.

You want to make sure that the coals are a bright white before you put the burger on the grill.

And always use a spatula.

Once you put the burger on the grill, remember...

... always cover it.

This will ensure that all the heat stays in, and around, the burger

so that is sears up almost immediately

and seals all those juices inside.

This step should take approximately five minutes

before it's even ready to turn.

After about 4 minutes, this burger

should be ready to flip.

Once you flip the burger over, remember

to resist the urge to squeeze it down.

You don't want to let any of those juices escape.

And most importantly

put the cover back on.

At this point, the burger should take another four minutes

for it to be ready.

After about 8 to 10 minutes

this burger should be ready.

The best way to see if the burger is ready

is with a simple hand trick.

You want to compare the feeling in the burger

with that of your hand.

A medium-rare burger will feel just like

the spongy area under your thumb...

...while a medium burger will feel more like the

center of your palm --

-- less bounce and a little more tight.

And there you have it --

the perfect grilled burger.

Enjoy!