A Complete Guide to Smashed Cooking Success

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 composes a column for The New York 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 Show on YouTube. This video and article are part of, our series on kitchen principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last 20 years of my career rigorously looking into and testing dishes, methods and commonly accepted kitchen area knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated numerous burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a burger.

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

How to Master the Ultimate Griddle Burger

In bread, this can be a great thing, but with burgers, overhandling can create an unwanted thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to exhaust the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Whether you're making a big burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and cook them until they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes flavor while preserving juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to eating a lot faster. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Don't let your patties relax 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.

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).

Capture me on the best day and I might admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the very same concept of what makes the ideal burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some brand-new ones and continued to end the ones I understand individuals like but I just. do not. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have various taste. Maybe I have not tried your favorite hamburger yet. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just joking).

There's one ideal burg out there for everybody. Let me show you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's begin with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little sick of smashburgers? The very best ones miraculously stay juicy with just a tip of flaky char around the edges, however unfortunately, the majority of locations go too hard on the smash.

When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some glistening from the beef and maybe a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be seared to help lock in the juices, however not too crusty.