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There is no end to the variety of tasty hamburgers you can make, but 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 develops dishes 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 become part of, our series on kitchen basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last 20 years of my profession carefully investigating and evaluating recipes, methods and widely accepted kitchen knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run multiple hamburger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a burger.

That doesn't mean you can't aim for something better. Here are the most important suggestions I have actually found for enhancing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the cooking area. Working ground beef too much can trigger it to become dense. 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, but with hamburgers, overhandling can create an undesirable thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional spices, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to overwork the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the outside of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and helps them to link up more easily. This is a good idea in sausages, which ought to have a firm texture, but with hamburgers, you want looseness. A hamburger needs to be tender, with lots of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply makes the most of taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a huge 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 until 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. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Hamburgers 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 Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Diner BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Thick Backyard BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.

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Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a burger enthusiast. Maturing, I 'd happily chomp them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru getting back from gymnastics practice. I 'd squish the soft bun and let ketchup dribble down the sides over my fingers. 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 best day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the exact same idea of what makes the perfect hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like but I simply. don't. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have various taste. Maybe I haven't attempted your preferred burger yet. Possibly I'm out to get you (simply joking).

Let me share with you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's start with the patty.

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 constantly go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be scorched to assist secure the juices, however not too crusty.