Chef-Level Culinary Techniques for Superior Homemade Burgers

There is no end to the variety of scrumptious burgers you can make, but here are 12 that will make your mouth water.

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes 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 also the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and post belong to, our series on cooking area fundamentals.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've invested the last twenty years of my profession carefully investigating and evaluating dishes, strategies and widely accepted kitchen area knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run several hamburger joints and even composed a regular monthly column for Serious Eats called the Burger Lab, in which I isolated and checked every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most crucial pointers I've found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Chef-Level Culinary Techniques for Superior Homemade Patties

In bread, this can be an excellent thing, however with burgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to strain the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, so skip it.) Salting the outside of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and helps them to link up more quickly. This is an advantage in sausages, which must have a company texture, but with burgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger must hurt, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Whether you're making a huge hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a griddle, browning is taste, 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 maximizes taste while maintaining juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming so much quicker. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Do not 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 had a chance to drip out.

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

Using Chef Flat-Top Methods in the Home

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually 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 admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Really, I may say that on many days. And you may state the same. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the very same idea of what makes the ideal hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some brand-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. Perhaps we have different taste. Maybe I haven't tried your preferred hamburger yet. Possibly I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

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

When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some sparkling 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 burnt to assist secure the juices, however not too crusty.