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There is no end to the number of tasty burgers 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 develops dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've invested the last two decades of my profession carefully investigating and evaluating recipes, techniques and widely accepted cooking area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated numerous hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Lab, in which I isolated and checked every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

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

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

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and helps them to connect more easily. This is an excellent thing in sausages, which must have a firm texture, however with burgers, you desire looseness. A burger ought to be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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 huge hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a griddle, browning is taste, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes taste while preserving juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had a chance to drip 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 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).

Catch me on the ideal day and I may confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's most 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 new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand individuals like however I simply. Possibly I haven't attempted your favorite burger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some sparkling from the beef and maybe 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 burnt to help secure the juices, but not too crusty.