Using Professional Griddle Methods in the Home

There is no end to the number of delicious burgers you can make, however 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 establishes dishes 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 spent the last two years of my career rigorously looking into and checking recipes, methods and widely accepted kitchen wisdom to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run multiple burger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a hamburger.

That does not mean you can't intend for something better. Here are the most crucial pointers I have actually discovered for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Working hamburger excessive can trigger it to become thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Mastering Chef Griddle Methods in the Home

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

This is an excellent thing in sausages, which should have a company 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 maximizes taste. 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 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 cook them till they're well browned on both sides.

This takes full advantage of taste while maintaining juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had a possibility to leak out.

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

Steps for Crispy Golden Fries

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a hamburger fan. 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 ideal day and I might admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. In fact, I might say that on most days. And you may state the very same. However even if you do, it's likely we do not have the same concept of what makes the best hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to end the ones I understand people like but I just. don't. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have various taste. Perhaps I have not tried your preferred burger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just joking).

Let me share with you what makes the perfect burger for me. Let's start with the patty.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some sparkling from the beef and perhaps a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be scorched to help lock in the juices, however not too crusty.