Bold Savory Dinner Inspiration for Passionate Home Cooks

There is no end to the variety of delicious hamburgers 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 develops recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube.

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 recipes, techniques and commonly accepted kitchen area knowledge to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated several burger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

But that does not suggest you can't aim for something much better. Here are the most crucial ideas I've discovered for enhancing your burger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Working hamburger too much can trigger it to become thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Selecting the Best Meats for Savory Burgers

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

This is a good thing in sausages, which should have a firm texture, however with hamburgers, you want looseness. A burger needs to 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 hamburger on a frying pan, browning is flavor, and high heat is crucial. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This makes the most of taste while keeping juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming a lot quicker. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Don't let your patties relax on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a possibility to leak out.

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

Choosing the Best Meats for Savory Burgers

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a burger fan. Growing up, I 'd happily chomp them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru getting home from gymnastics practice. I 'd crush 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 best day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we don't have the exact same concept of what makes the best hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like however I just. do not. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Maybe we have different taste. Maybe I have not tried your preferred burger. Maybe I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

There's one ideal burg out there for everyone. Let me share with you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's start with the patty. Can I state I'm growing a little exhausted of smashburgers? The very best ones astonishingly remain juicy with just a tip of flaky char around the edges, but unfortunately, many locations go too difficult on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some sparkling from the beef and perhaps a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be burnt to help lock in the juices, but not too crusty.