Advanced Culinary Techniques for Superior Homemade Burgers

There is no end to the variety of tasty hamburgers you can make, however 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 establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and article belong to, our series on kitchen basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food author and cookbook author, I've spent the last two decades of my career rigorously investigating and testing dishes, methods and commonly accepted kitchen knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run numerous burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I isolated and checked every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

But that doesn't imply you can't go for something better. Here are the most crucial tips I've discovered for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the cooking area. Working hamburger too much can cause it to become thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be an advantage, however with burgers, overhandling can develop an undesirable thick texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional spices, like onions and herbs, also requires you to overwork the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so skip it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply optimizes flavor. 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 burger on a griddle, browning is flavor, and high heat is crucial. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait up 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 keeping juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around 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 leak out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Diner 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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Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've constantly been a burger 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).

Catch me on the right day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the same concept of what makes the perfect 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 however I just. Possibly I have not attempted your favorite hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

There's one ideal burg out there for everybody. Let me show you what makes the best burger for me. Let's start with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little fed up with smashburgers? The best ones amazingly stay juicy with just a tip of flaky char around the edges, but unfortunately, most places go too tough on the smash.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some glowing from the beef and perhaps 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 must be scorched to help lock in the juices, but not too crusty.