Steps for Perfect Golden Sides

There is no end to the number of delicious hamburgers you can make, however 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 recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and article are part of, our series on cooking area fundamentals.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've spent the last two decades of my career rigorously researching and evaluating recipes, techniques and widely accepted kitchen knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run numerous burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a burger.

But that doesn't mean you can't go for something better. Here are the most important pointers I have actually discovered for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the cooking area. Working hamburger too much can trigger it to become dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Why High-Quality Natural Ingredients Transform Your Burger

In bread, this can be a good idea, but with burgers, overhandling can create an unwanted thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to exhaust the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so avoid it.) Salting the outside of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply maximizes flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a huge 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 hamburgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and cook them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This takes full advantage of flavor while keeping juiciness. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a possibility to drip 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 have actually always been a hamburger enthusiast. Growing up, I 'd happily chomp them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru getting home from gymnastics practice. I 'd crush the soft bun and let catsup 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 may confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the very same concept of what makes the perfect burger.

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 just. Possibly I have not attempted your preferred burger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just kidding).

Let me share with you what makes the best burger for me. Let's begin 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 opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be seared to assist lock in the juices, however not too crusty.