Advanced Culinary Techniques for Juicier Homemade Burgers

There is no end to the variety of delicious burgers 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 establishes dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last 20 years of my career rigorously researching and evaluating dishes, strategies and commonly accepted kitchen area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated several burger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Laboratory, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a burger.

Here are the most important ideas I've discovered for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the backyard or the cooking area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be an excellent thing, however with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable dense texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, also requires you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is an excellent thing in sausages, which ought to have a company texture, however with burgers, you want looseness. A burger should be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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 burgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes flavor while maintaining juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Diner 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.

Better Temperature Management for Better Grilled Burgers

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've constantly been a burger lover. Growing up, I 'd gladly munch them down at sit-down restaurants and from the drive-thru getting home from gymnastics practice. I 'd squish 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).

Catch me on the ideal day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's most 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, added some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like however I just. Possibly I haven't tried your favorite hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

There's one ideal burg out there for everybody. Let me share with you what makes the best hamburger for me. Let's begin with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little sick of smashburgers? The very best ones unbelievely remain juicy with simply a hint of flaky char around the edges, but sadly, a lot of places go too tough on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some shining from the beef and maybe a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be scorched to help secure the juices, however not too crusty.