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There is no end to the number of tasty 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 recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last 2 years of my profession carefully looking into and checking dishes, methods and commonly accepted kitchen knowledge to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a burger.

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

Optimal Temperature Control for Better Grilled Burgers

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

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply optimizes flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, 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 flavor while maintaining 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 an opportunity to leak out.

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

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Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a hamburger fan. Growing up, I 'd gladly chew them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru getting home 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 ideal day and I might admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the exact same concept of what makes the perfect hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know individuals like however I simply. Maybe I have not attempted your favorite hamburger. Maybe I'm out to get you (simply joking).

Let me share with you what makes the perfect hamburger for me. Let's begin with the patty.

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some glistening from the beef and possibly a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be seared to help secure the juices, but not too crusty.