Selecting High-Quality Meats for Tasty Burgers

There is no end to the variety of delicious hamburgers you can make, but here are 12 that will make your mouth water.

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes a column for The New york city Times on food and science, and he establishes dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and article become part of, our series on kitchen area principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last 20 years of my profession carefully researching and evaluating recipes, techniques and widely accepted kitchen wisdom to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Eats called the Burger Laboratory, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a hamburger.

However that doesn't indicate you can't intend for something much better. Here are the most important ideas I have actually discovered for enhancing your burger experience, whether in the backyard or the cooking area. Working hamburger excessive can cause it to end up being dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Choosing High-Quality Beef for Savory Burgers

In bread, this can be an excellent thing, but with burgers, overhandling can develop an unwanted thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to exhaust the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so skip it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is an excellent thing in sausages, which should have a firm texture, however with burgers, you want looseness. A burger must be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a frying pan, browning is flavor, 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 until they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes flavor while keeping juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming a lot quicker. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip out.

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

How Premium Fresh Ingredients Elevate Your Burger

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a hamburger fan. Maturing, I 'd gladly munch them down at sit-down restaurants and from the drive-thru getting home from gymnastics practice. I 'd crush 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).

Catch me on the right day and I might admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Actually, I might say that on most days. And you may state the same. Even if you do, it's most 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 new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand individuals like however I just. Possibly I haven't attempted your favorite hamburger. Maybe I'm out to get you (just kidding).

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

When I bite in, I require 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 must be burnt to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.