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There is no end to the variety of delicious hamburgers you can make, however here are 12 that will make your mouth water.
J. Kenji Lpez-Alt composes a column for The New York Times on food and science, and he establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube.
Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've invested the last twenty years of my profession carefully researching and checking dishes, strategies and widely accepted kitchen knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run several burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a burger.
That doesn't mean you can't intend for something better. Here are the most important suggestions I've discovered for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the cooking area. Working ground beef excessive can cause it to become dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
In bread, this can be an excellent thing, but with hamburgers, overhandling can develop an unwanted thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to exhaust 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 connect up more easily. This is an advantage in sausages, which ought to have a company texture, however with burgers, you desire looseness. A burger needs to be tender, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.
Whether you're making a huge hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a griddle, browning is flavor, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.
This optimizes flavor while keeping 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 relax on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a possibility to leak out.
Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City 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 City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.
Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly 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).
Catch me on the ideal day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Really, I may say that on a lot of days. And you might state the same. However even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the very same concept of what makes the perfect hamburger.
I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know individuals like however I simply. Possibly I have not tried your favorite burger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just kidding).
There's one best burg out there for everyone. Let me share with you what makes the best burger for me. Let's begin with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little fed up with smashburgers? The very best ones astonishingly stay juicy with simply a tip of flaky char around the edges, but unfortunately, most locations go too hard on the smash.
When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some shining from the beef and maybe 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 must be seared to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.
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