Choosing High-Quality Beef for Savory Burgers

There is no end to the variety of scrumptious 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 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 20 years of my profession carefully looking into and checking dishes, strategies and extensively accepted kitchen wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run multiple burger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Laboratory, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a burger.

Here are the most important pointers I've discovered for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Delicious Outdoor Dinner Inspiration for 2026

In bread, this can be a great thing, however with burgers, overhandling can create an undesirable thick texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to strain the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a good thing in sausages, which need to have a firm texture, but with burgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger should be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

This takes full advantage of taste while maintaining juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had an opportunity to leak out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City 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.

Top-Rated Savory Dinner Templates for the Season

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a burger 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).

Catch me on the ideal day and I may confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we don't have the exact same concept of what makes the best burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know individuals like however I just. do not. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Maybe we have different taste. Perhaps I haven't attempted your preferred burger yet. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just joking).

Let me share with you what makes the best burger 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 running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be burnt to help secure the juices, but not too crusty.