If you have a EFI based and configured system, you can compile or get a EFI enabled kernel (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/EFISTUB).
You can apply these tips to most if not all more recent distro's. I personally tried a full Linux from scratch build and a basic kernel with Busybox in a initramfs (pretty useless). Arch Linux works like a charm.
Either use a EFI bootloader like Grub or Clover, or make use of the EFISTUB ability of the kernel to directly boot the kernel and pass the kernel commands by use of a efi-variable. Again, Arch's wiki worked like a charm for me.
Note, I disabled Secureboot.
Or, besides various bootloaders that can be put in either the MBR or as an optionrom, you could try look at Coreboot (or libreboot) and make Linux your payload. I consider the EFISTUB option the easiest if your system supports it. You might want to check as well if the system has some kind of bootmenu to switch between OS at boot and to disable the secureboot option.