Optimal Heat Control for Better Seared Burgers

There is no end to the number of scrumptious 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 establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise 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 checking recipes, strategies and widely accepted cooking area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run several burger joints and even composed a regular monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Lab, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most essential tips I've discovered for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be an advantage, but with burgers, overhandling can develop an unwanted thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to overwork the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so skip it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and helps them to connect up more quickly. This is a good idea in sausages, which ought to have a company texture, but with burgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger ought to hurt, with lots of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Whether you're making a big burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them until they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes taste while maintaining juiciness. Don't 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 actually had a chance to leak 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 always been a burger enthusiast. Maturing, I 'd gladly chew them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru coming home 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).

Catch me on the best day and I may confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's likely we don't have the exact same concept of what makes the perfect 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. Perhaps I have not tried your preferred hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

There's one best burg out there for everyone. Let me show you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's begin with the patty. Can I state I'm growing a little fed up with smashburgers? The very best ones astonishingly stay juicy with simply a hint of flaky char around the edges, however regrettably, a lot of places go too hard 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 seared to assist lock in the juices, however not too crusty.