Steps to Perfect the Ultimate Flat-Top Patty

There is no end to the variety of delicious hamburgers you can make, but 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 develops recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last 20 years of my career carefully looking into and evaluating recipes, methods and extensively accepted kitchen wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run multiple burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Lab, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a burger.

Here are the most crucial ideas I have actually discovered for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be a good idea, but with hamburgers, overhandling can develop an undesirable dense texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and assists them to connect up more easily. This is a good idea in sausages, which ought to have a firm texture, but with hamburgers, you want looseness. A hamburger ought to hurt, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

This maximizes flavor while preserving juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to leak out.

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

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Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've constantly been a burger lover. 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 best day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the very same idea of what makes the ideal burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

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

When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some sparkling 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 must be burnt to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.