How to Master the Ideal Griddle Burger

There is no end to the variety of tasty burgers 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 city Times on food and science, and he establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and article belong to, our series on kitchen principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last 20 years of my career rigorously researching and checking recipes, strategies and widely accepted kitchen wisdom to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run several hamburger joints and even composed a regular monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a burger.

That does not imply you can't aim for something much better. Here are the most important suggestions I have actually found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen area. Working ground beef excessive can cause it to become dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Steps for Crispy Golden Fries

In bread, this can be an advantage, however with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, also requires you to overwork the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so skip it.) Salting the outside of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a great thing in sausages, which must have a firm texture, but with burgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger needs to be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of 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 griddle, browning is flavor, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them until they're well browned on both sides.

This takes full advantage of flavor while maintaining 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 actually had a possibility to leak out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Restaurant BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Thick Backyard BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.

Creative Modern Dinner Inspiration for Busy Home Cooks

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a hamburger fan. Maturing, I 'd gladly chew 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 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 right day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Actually, I may say that on a lot of days. And you may say the very same. However even if you do, it's likely we do not have the very same concept of what makes the ideal burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know people like but I simply. do not. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have various taste. Possibly I haven't attempted your preferred 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 glowing from the beef and maybe 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 scorched to assist lock in the juices, however not too crusty.