Advanced Cooking Techniques for Superior Hand-Pressed Burgers

There is no end to the number of delicious burgers you can make, however 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 likewise the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've invested the last 2 years of my career carefully researching and testing dishes, techniques and commonly accepted cooking area knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run multiple burger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and evaluated every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a burger.

That doesn't imply you can't aim for something better. Here are the most essential suggestions I have actually found for enhancing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen. Working hamburger too much can trigger it to end up being dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Chef-Level Culinary Techniques for Juicier Homemade Patties

In bread, this can be an advantage, however with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to strain the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so skip 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 link more quickly. This is an advantage in sausages, which must have a company texture, but with burgers, you want looseness. A burger needs to be tender, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Whether you're making a huge hamburger 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 until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes taste while preserving 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 had a possibility to leak out.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Delicious Outdoor Dinner Inspiration for the Future

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always 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).

Catch me on the best day and I might admit 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 ideal burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

Let me share with you what makes the ideal hamburger 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 perhaps a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be scorched to help lock in the juices, but not too crusty.