Essential Summer Grilling Hacks for 2026

There is no end to the variety of delicious 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 dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and post are part of, our series on cooking area basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've spent the last 2 decades of my profession carefully investigating and evaluating recipes, strategies and extensively accepted cooking area knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run several burger joints and even composed a monthly column for Serious Eats called the Burger Lab, in which I isolated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

That doesn't indicate you can't aim for something much better. Here are the most crucial tips I've found for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the backyard or the cooking area. Working ground beef too much can trigger it to end up being thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Expert Summer Grilling Tips

In bread, this can be a good idea, but with burgers, overhandling can create an unwanted thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional spices, like onions and herbs, also requires you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a great thing in sausages, which must have a company texture, however with hamburgers, you desire looseness. A burger must be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

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 flavor, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.

This makes the most of flavor while keeping juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had a possibility to leak 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 Backyard BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.

Advanced Culinary Techniques for Juicier Hand-Pressed Burgers

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a burger 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).

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 ideal hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to end the ones I know people like however I just. do not. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have different taste. Maybe I haven't attempted your preferred burger yet. Maybe I'm out to get you (simply joking).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some sparkling 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 lock in the juices, but not too crusty.