Advanced Culinary Techniques for Superior Hand-Pressed Patties

There is no end to the number of tasty burgers you can make, however here are 12 that will make your mouth water.

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt composes a column for The New york city Times on food and science, and he establishes dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and post belong to, our series on cooking area basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last 20 years of my profession rigorously looking into and testing recipes, methods and extensively accepted kitchen area wisdom to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I isolated and evaluated every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a hamburger.

But that doesn't mean you can't go for something better. Here are the most important suggestions I've found for enhancing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen area. Working ground beef too much can cause it to end up being dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Choosing the Best Meats for Tasty Burgers

In bread, this can be a good thing, but with burgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to overwork the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so skip it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and helps them to link up more easily. This is an advantage in sausages, which need to have a company texture, but with burgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger needs to hurt, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and cook them till they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes taste while keeping juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to eating a lot faster. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Don't let your patties relax on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to leak out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Diner BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Thick Yard BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.

Innovative High-End French Fry Methods for the Home

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a hamburger enthusiast. Maturing, I 'd happily munch them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru getting back from gymnastics practice. I 'd squish the soft bun and let ketchup dribble down the sides over my fingers. If there were any little melty American cheese leavings stuck on the wrapper, I 'd drag my french fries through them (I still do this).

Capture me on the ideal day and I might admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Really, I may say that on the majority of days. And you might state the exact same. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the same idea of what makes the perfect hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know people like but I simply. don't. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have different taste. Maybe I have not tried your favorite hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (simply joking).

Let me share with you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's start with the patty.

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some glowing from the beef and maybe a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be seared to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.