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There is no end to the number 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 establishes dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last 20 years of my profession rigorously researching and checking recipes, strategies and extensively accepted cooking area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run several burger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Lab, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a hamburger.

However that doesn't imply you can't go for something much better. Here are the most essential tips I have actually found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the cooking area. Working ground beef too much can cause it to end up being thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be an excellent thing, however with burgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted dense texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional flavoring, like onions and herbs, also forces you to overwork the meat and distract from the beef taste, so avoid 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 up more quickly. This is a good idea in sausages, which must have a company texture, but with hamburgers, you want looseness. A burger should hurt, with a lot 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 frying pan, browning is flavor, and high heat is crucial. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes taste while maintaining juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming a lot faster. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a possibility to leak 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 have actually constantly 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).

Capture me on the right day and I may confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the exact 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 end the ones I know people like but I just. don't. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Maybe we have different taste. Possibly I haven't tried your preferred burger yet. Possibly I'm out to get you (just joking).

There's one perfect burg out there for everybody. Let me share with you what makes the perfect hamburger for me. Let's start with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little sick of smashburgers? The best ones astonishingly remain juicy with just a tip of flaky char around the edges, but regrettably, many places go too difficult on the smash.

When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some glistening from the beef and perhaps a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be scorched to assist lock in the juices, however not too crusty.