re: Homemade burgers... how do you season them?

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No seasoning in the meat. Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper on the outside. Very little handling of the meat.

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+1 Have butcher grind 50 50 blend of chuck and brisket on largest grind possible. Form it very gently into a 6 ounce patty. Season outside. Grill or griddle.

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an egg to keep it all together

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tastes better when it is almost falling apart. I'm not a fan of densely packed burgers.

I just grab a handful and lightly mash it into somewhat of a patty, throw it on the grill or frying pan, and season a little while it cooks.

Even if I want to get fancy and stuff the burger with blue cheese, olives, jalepenos, or whatever else, I form two thin, lightly worked patties and stuff the ingredients between the two thin patties to form one thick patty. This prevents you from overworking the ground beef while mixing in the ingredients. As someone else said, overworking it makes it tough and dense.

For the past few years I mix the ground meat with a little Lea & Perrin's, Tony's, and BBQ sauce. It keep the burgers very moist. Granted I like my burgers medium well.

y'all almost did it...

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sometimes an egg to keep it all together.

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I show up at a buddy's one night to watch a game. We were grilling burgers and he's putting raw eggs on the hamburger meat. I asked him WTF are you doing. He said it keeps the burgers from sticking to the grill. You can taste the egg and I don't care for it at all.

Back to the OP. Most of the times salt & pepper. Every once in a while I'll rub some Dale's sauce on the outside of the patties.

i used to add different seasonings while mixing. Then one day i just decided on kosher salt/black pepper after they were formed. Made a nice crust on the outside and thats all i've been doing to them.

One of Grant Achatz's burger recipes calls for the beef to be infused with minced onions and bacon, but what does he know? He is obviously a far less superior cook than all of the F&D board

ETA:

Charcuterie Burger
What you'll need

Sauce Gribiche:
3 Tbsp finely chopped hard-boiled egg whites
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp finely chopped cornichon pickles
1 Tbsp finely chopped nonpareil capers
1 Tbsp finely chopped white onion
1 tsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped tarragon
Pinch kosher salt

The Burgers:
Canola oil
8 slices hickory-smoked bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/4"-thick lengths
1/4 cup finely diced shallots
1 Tbsp caraway seeds, ground in a spice grinder
1 lb ground beef (80% lean)
2 medium Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced 1/2" thick
1/2 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 1/2 tsp (plus a pinch) kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1 sprig thyme
3 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat side of a chef's knife
4 sourdough hamburger buns, split and toasted

How to make it:
1. Combine the gribiche ingredients in a medium bowl and refrigerate. In a large pan, heat 1/2 teaspoon of oil on medium. Add the bacon and saute until partially cooked, about 3 minutes. Add the shallots and caraway seeds and cook until the shallots are translucent, about 3 more minutes. Using your fingers, gently break apart the beef into another bowl. Place the bowl of beef, the bacon mixture, and a fork in the freezer for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a skillet over very high heat until it begins to smoke. Immediately add the apple slices and cook until well browned, about 4 minutes. Flip them and cook until browned on the other side, another 2 minutes or so. Add butter and cook until the apples are very soft, about 2 minutes more. Remove them from the pan.

3. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Remove all the items from the freezer. Add the bacon mixture to the beef along with the Gruyere, 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Using the cold fork, gently mix the ingredients together. Form the meat into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.

4. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a large ovenproof saute pan on high until the oil begins to smoke. Add the burger patties, thyme, and garlic. Cook, without moving the meat, until the bottoms of the burgers caramelize and develop a crust, about 2 1/2 minutes. Using a thin metal spatula, flip the patties and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes to finish the burger. Remove the burgers from the pan and set on paper towels to drain excess fat.

5. Place the burger patties on the bottom half of each bun. Spread a generous helping of sauce gribiche on each burger. Top with a few pieces of roasted apple and then the bun tops, and serve. Makes 4 servings

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OPR, what's this all about?

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It's not a "hole" per-say. It's just a little indentation. All of the tv chefs do this. Supposedly it's a trade secret and it keeps the burgers from shrinking too much.

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One of Grant Achatz's burger recipes calls for the beef to be infused with minced onions and bacon, but what does he know? He is obviously a far less superior cook than all of the F&D board

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That recipe you posted is entirely too much for a fricking hamburger. Sometimes chefs go way overboard where it isn't necessary. That hamburger falls into that category in my eyes.