Delicious Outdoor Dinner Inspiration for 2026

There is no end to the variety of delicious 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 Times on food and science, and he establishes dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and short article belong to, our series on kitchen area basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last two decades of my career carefully investigating and testing dishes, techniques and extensively accepted kitchen area knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated multiple burger joints and even composed a regular monthly column for Serious Eats called the Burger Laboratory, in which I isolated and evaluated every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a burger.

However that doesn't mean you can't go for something much better. Here are the most crucial ideas I've found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Working ground beef excessive can trigger it to become thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Steps for Crispy Golden Sides

In bread, this can be an excellent thing, but with burgers, overhandling can create an unwanted thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to exhaust the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a good thing in sausages, which must have a company texture, but with hamburgers, you want looseness. A hamburger should be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Whether you're making a big hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is crucial. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and cook them until they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes flavor while maintaining juiciness. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had an opportunity to drip out.

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

The Complete Guide to Smashed Cooking Perfection

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a burger lover. 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 best 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 concept of what makes the ideal hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know people like but I simply. Possibly I have not attempted your favorite burger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

There's one ideal burg out there for everyone. Let me share with you what makes the ideal hamburger for me. Let's start with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little fed up with smashburgers? The very best ones unbelievely remain juicy with just a tip of flaky char around the edges, however sadly, the majority of locations go too hard on the smash.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some glistening from the beef and perhaps a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be burnt to assist lock in the juices, however not too crusty.