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There is no end to the variety of tasty burgers you can make, however 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 dishes 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 author and cookbook author, I've invested the last 2 decades of my profession carefully investigating and checking recipes, techniques and widely accepted cooking area knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated numerous burger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Lab, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a burger.

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

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In bread, this can be an advantage, but with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional flavoring, like onions and herbs, also requires you to overwork the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

This optimizes flavor while maintaining juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming so much faster. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Do not let your patties relax on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had a possibility to drip 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 hamburger fan. 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 admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the same idea 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 individuals like but I just. Possibly I haven't tried your favorite hamburger. Maybe I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

There's one perfect burg out there for everybody. Let me show you what makes the perfect hamburger for me. Let's begin with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little fed up with smashburgers? The best ones unbelievely stay juicy with simply a hint of flaky char around the edges, but unfortunately, many places go too hard on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some sparkling from the beef and perhaps a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be seared to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.