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There is no end to the number of delicious burgers you can make, but 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 recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've spent the last two years of my profession carefully looking into and evaluating dishes, strategies and widely accepted kitchen area wisdom to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

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

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In bread, this can be a great thing, however with burgers, overhandling can create an undesirable dense texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to strain the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so skip 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 more easily. This is an excellent thing in sausages, which ought to have a company texture, however with burgers, you desire looseness. A burger must be tender, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply makes the most of taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is key. 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 takes full advantage of flavor while keeping juiciness. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had an opportunity to drip out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York 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'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).

Capture me on the best day and I might admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Actually, I might state that on the majority of days. And you may say the very same. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the exact same concept of what makes the best burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like but I simply. don't. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Perhaps we have different taste. Perhaps I haven't tried your favorite burger yet. Perhaps I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

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

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some shining from the beef and possibly 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 must be scorched to assist lock in the juices, however not too crusty.