How Premium Fresh Ingredients Transform Your Dinner

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

J. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes a column for The New York Times on food and science, and he develops dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last twenty years of my career carefully investigating and checking dishes, techniques and widely accepted kitchen area knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run multiple burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Burger Laboratory, in which I isolated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most crucial tips I've discovered for enhancing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Bold Modern Dinner Inspiration for Passionate Home Cooks

In bread, this can be a good idea, however with burgers, overhandling can create an unwanted dense texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to overwork the meat and distract from the beef taste, so avoid it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a great thing in sausages, which should have a company texture, but with burgers, you desire looseness. A burger ought to be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply maximizes flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a griddle, browning is flavor, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them until they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes taste while maintaining juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Restaurant 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.

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Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a burger lover. Maturing, I 'd gladly chew them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru getting home 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 right day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we don't have the same idea of what makes the ideal burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand individuals like however I simply. don't. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have various taste. Perhaps I have not attempted your preferred burger yet. Possibly I'm out to get you (just joking).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some sparkling from the beef and maybe a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be burnt to assist secure the juices, however not too crusty.