Selecting High-Quality Meats for Savory Burgers

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 writes 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 developer 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 two years of my career rigorously looking into and checking dishes, methods and extensively accepted cooking area knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated several hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Lab, in which I isolated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most essential pointers I have actually found for enhancing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the cooking area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be a good idea, but with burgers, overhandling can develop an undesirable dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional seasoning, like onions and herbs, also forces you to strain the meat and distract from the beef taste, 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 link more quickly. This is a good idea in sausages, which should have a company texture, but with burgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger should hurt, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

This maximizes flavor while maintaining juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to eating so much quicker. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Don't let your patties relax on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to leak out.

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

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Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always 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 right day and I may confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the same idea of what makes the best hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like but I simply. Perhaps I haven't tried your favorite hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

There's one ideal 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 state I'm growing a little exhausted of smashburgers? The finest ones amazingly stay juicy with just a hint of flaky char around the edges, however unfortunately, the majority of locations go too tough on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some glowing from the beef and maybe 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 should be burnt to assist secure the juices, however not too crusty.