Steps to Perfect the Ultimate Griddle Patty

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

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes 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 fundamentals.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last 20 years of my profession carefully looking into and checking dishes, techniques and commonly accepted kitchen knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run several hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Laboratory, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most important suggestions I've found for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and helps them to link more quickly. This is a good idea in sausages, which must have a firm texture, but with burgers, you want looseness. A burger ought to be tender, with lots of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply optimizes flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York 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 flavor, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them up until they're well browned on both sides.

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

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a burger enthusiast. 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 admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the very same idea of what makes the best hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like however I just. Perhaps I have not attempted your preferred hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

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 sparkle, some sparkling from the beef and possibly a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be burnt to help lock in the juices, but not too crusty.