Food News: Burgers Without Borders

"I admit it, I'm not above stealing burgers and hot dogs from children. At cookouts, I admire the grilled soft-shell crabs, pencil-thin asparagus and other adult fare, then check out what the toddlers are getting.

Burgers and sausages - any ground meat on the grill - have always been my favorites, for eating and for cooking. And for those (like me) whose grilling skills are still in development, they are relatively foolproof.

On Memorial Day, a char-grilled American beef burger can bring patriotic tears to the eye. But by the Fourth of July, the pleasure of plain meat may pale, even for me. That's when mixtures that are highly seasoned but still simple come into play. They are the far-flung ancestors of burgers, sometimes shaped into balls or around skewers, but bearing unmistakable family traits of tenderness, juice and spice. In the grilling traditions of countries like Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia, ground meat, spices and aromatics bloom together over hot coals.

Ground meat, though it doesn't have the mighty heft of a steak in American culture, is an art form in others. In the Middle East, from Lebanon all the way to Afghanistan and Iran, generations of cooks have used every scrap of meat and transformed it into elegant, subtly spiced dishes."

Includes related recipes for: