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

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes a column for The New York Times on food and science, and he develops recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and post belong to, our series on kitchen basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last two years of my career rigorously researching and testing recipes, strategies and extensively accepted kitchen knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Laboratory, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a burger.

However that does not indicate you can't aim for something much better. Here are the most important ideas I've found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Working ground beef too much can trigger it to become dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be an advantage, but with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to overwork 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 a good thing in sausages, which must have a firm texture, however with burgers, you desire looseness. A burger ought to be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Whether you're making a big burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is crucial. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes flavor while keeping juiciness. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had an opportunity to leak out.

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

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Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a hamburger enthusiast. Maturing, I 'd happily 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 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 right day and I may confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the same idea of what makes the perfect hamburger.

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. Perhaps we have different taste. Possibly I have not attempted your favorite hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (simply joking).

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

When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some glowing from the beef and maybe a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be scorched to help secure the juices, however not too crusty.