Delicious Outdoor Dinner Ideas for 2026

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

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes a column for The New york city 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. This video and post become part of, our series on kitchen area basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last 20 years of my profession rigorously investigating and evaluating dishes, techniques and extensively accepted cooking area knowledge to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run several hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Eats called the Burger Lab, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

That does not indicate you can't intend for something much better. Here are the most essential tips I have actually discovered for enhancing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the cooking area. Working ground beef excessive can cause it to end up being thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Preparing Golden-Brown Side Fries in Your Home

In bread, this can be an advantage, however with hamburgers, overhandling can create an undesirable dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional flavoring, like onions and herbs, also requires you to exhaust the meat and distract 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 quickly. This is an advantage in sausages, which should have a company texture, however with hamburgers, you want looseness. A burger ought to be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. 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 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 makes the most of taste while preserving juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to eating so much quicker. 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). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip out.

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

Expert Outdoor Grilling Tips for 2026

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've constantly been a hamburger 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 favorite food. Really, I may say that on most days. And you might say the very same. But even if you do, it's likely we do not have the exact same concept 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 understand individuals like however I simply. don't. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have various taste. Perhaps I haven't attempted your favorite burger yet. Possibly I'm out to get you (just joking).

Let me share with you what makes the ideal 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 constantly go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be scorched to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.