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There is no end to the variety of tasty hamburgers 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 also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and post are part of, our series on kitchen area principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last twenty years of my career carefully looking into and evaluating recipes, methods and widely accepted kitchen area knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated numerous hamburger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a burger.

Here are the most essential tips I have actually found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be a great thing, however with hamburgers, overhandling can develop an unwanted thick texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to exhaust the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so skip it.) Salting the outside of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

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

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Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is flavor, and high heat is crucial. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them until they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes flavor while preserving juiciness. Don't 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 a chance to leak out.

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

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Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a burger fan. 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 ideal day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. In fact, I might state that on many days. And you might state the same. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the 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 individuals like but I just. don't. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Perhaps we have different taste. Perhaps I haven't attempted your preferred burger yet. Possibly I'm out to get you (simply joking).

There's one perfect burg out there for everyone. Let me share with you what makes the perfect hamburger 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 remain juicy with just a tip of flaky char around the edges, but unfortunately, a lot of locations go too tough on the smash.

When I bite in, I require 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 always opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be burnt to help lock in the juices, but not too crusty.