Using Professional Griddle Methods in the Home

There is no end to the number of tasty hamburgers 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 likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and short article are part of, our series on kitchen area basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last twenty years of my career carefully looking into and testing dishes, methods and extensively accepted kitchen knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run numerous burger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Lab, in which I separated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most crucial ideas I have actually found for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the cooking area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Advanced Culinary Techniques for Juicier Hand-Pressed Patties

In bread, this can be an advantage, but with burgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted dense texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to strain the meat and distract from the beef taste, so skip it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a great thing in sausages, which need to have a firm texture, however with burgers, you want looseness. A hamburger needs to be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply makes the most of flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a griddle, browning is flavor, and high heat is crucial. 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 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 finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had an opportunity to drip out.

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

How to Make Crispy Golden Sides

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a hamburger fan. Maturing, I 'd gladly chew them down at sit-down restaurants and from the drive-thru getting back 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).

Capture me on the best day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the very same idea of what makes the best 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 individuals like but I simply. don't. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Maybe we have different taste. Possibly I haven't tried your favorite burger. Maybe I'm out to get you (just joking).

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

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some glowing from the beef and maybe a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be scorched to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.