Steps to Perfect the Ultimate Flat-Top Burger

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

J. 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 Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I've spent the last 20 years of my career carefully investigating and checking dishes, strategies and widely accepted cooking area knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run numerous hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a burger.

That does not suggest you can't aim for something much better. Here are the most crucial pointers I've discovered for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen. Working hamburger too much can cause it to end up being thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Better Temperature Control for Savory Seared Patties

In bread, this can be an advantage, but with burgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted dense texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef taste, so avoid it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is an excellent thing in sausages, which ought to have a company texture, however with hamburgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger 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 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 key. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes flavor while preserving juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers 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.

Delicious Outdoor Dinner Inspiration for the Future

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a burger fan. Growing up, I 'd happily chomp them down at sit-down restaurants 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 best day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Actually, I might say that on the majority of days. And you may say the very same. But even if you do, it's likely we don't have the exact same concept of what makes the perfect burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included 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. Maybe we have different taste. Perhaps I have not tried your preferred hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just kidding).

There's one best burg out there for everybody. Let me show you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's begin with the patty. Can I state I'm growing a little sick of smashburgers? The finest ones unbelievely stay juicy with just a hint of flaky char around the edges, however regrettably, most locations go too hard on the smash.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some shining from the beef and possibly a little grease diminishing 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 help secure the juices, but not too crusty.