Why Premium Fresh Ingredients Transform Your Dinner

There is no end to the variety of scrumptious burgers you can make, but 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 develops recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and short article become part of, our series on kitchen area principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I've spent the last twenty years of my career rigorously looking into and evaluating dishes, techniques and commonly accepted kitchen area wisdom to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated several burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Lab, in which I isolated and checked every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a burger.

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

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

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and assists them to link up more quickly. This is a great thing in sausages, which should have a firm texture, however with hamburgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger must hurt, with lots of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

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 huge burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a griddle, browning is taste, 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 till they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes flavor while maintaining juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming a lot quicker. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had an opportunity to drip out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City 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 City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.

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Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a hamburger 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 may admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Really, I might state that on most days. And you may state the very same. But even if you do, it's likely we don't have the exact same idea of what makes the ideal burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like but I simply. do not. get. Yes, I understand 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).

There's one perfect burg out there for everybody. Let me show you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's start with the patty. Can I state I'm growing a little fed up with smashburgers? The best ones amazingly stay juicy with simply a hint of flaky char around the edges, but sadly, most places go too tough on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some glowing from the beef and possibly 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 scorched to assist secure the juices, however not too crusty.