Optimal Temperature Control for Savory Grilled Burgers

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

J. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes 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 Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last 20 years of my career carefully researching and testing dishes, strategies and commonly accepted kitchen knowledge to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Eats 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 crucial tips I have actually discovered for enhancing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Using Chef Flat-Top Styles in the Home

In bread, this can be a good idea, but with burgers, overhandling can develop an unwanted dense texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, also forces you to overwork the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so skip it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply optimizes taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. 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 burgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and cook them until they're well browned on both sides.

This takes full advantage of taste while preserving juiciness. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip out.

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

Selecting the Best Beef for Savory Burgers

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a hamburger fan. Maturing, I 'd happily chew them down at sit-down restaurants and from the drive-thru getting home from gymnastics practice. I 'd squish the soft bun and let ketchup dribble down the sides over my fingers. 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 confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the same concept of what makes the perfect burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to end the ones I know individuals like but I just. don't. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Perhaps we have various taste. Possibly I have not tried your preferred burger yet. Possibly I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

Let me share with you what makes the perfect burger for me. Let's start with the patty.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some glistening from the beef and maybe a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be scorched to help secure the juices, however not too crusty.