Advanced Culinary Techniques for Superior Hand-Pressed Burgers

There is no end to the variety of tasty burgers 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 city Times on food and science, and he establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and short article become part of, our series on cooking area principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've spent the last 2 years of my career carefully researching and testing recipes, methods and extensively accepted cooking area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated numerous burger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Lab, in which I isolated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a burger.

Here are the most essential tips I have actually found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be an advantage, but with burgers, overhandling can develop an undesirable thick texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to exhaust the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, 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 assists them to link more easily. This is an advantage in sausages, which must have a firm texture, however with burgers, you want looseness. A hamburger must be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

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Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a huge hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes taste while preserving juiciness. Do not 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 chance to drip out.

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

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Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've constantly been a burger lover. 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 best day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Really, I may say that on a lot of days. And you may say the very same. Even if you do, it's likely we don't have the same idea of what makes the best burger.

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I kept some old favorites, included some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand individuals like but I just. Perhaps I have not tried your favorite hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some glistening from the beef and perhaps 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 should be scorched to help lock in the juices, however not too crusty.