I like to use a fresh ground meat, either chuck or a mix of chuck and sirloin, with some bacon added to get it 80/20 lean to fat. I don't add any flavoring to the meat and I handle it minimally, I do not believe in compressing the patty at all. I think ground meat gets a tough texture when handled much after grinding.
I form into patties with as little handling as possible, they dont have to be perfect. I put on a hot grill, salt only on the top side. Cook for a couple of minutes, flip and salt and pepper the cooked side, then go another couple of minutes or more, depending, a instant read thermometer works great for checking desired done level. It ends up tasting like beef, it works great for me. If I want to smoke them, I do the same thing, except dust them with rub, then onto smoker at 250F until done, usually 30 minutes or so, i think. I tend to eat medium rare burgers.