Bold Savory Dinner Inspiration for Busy Kitchens

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

J. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes 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 creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last 20 years of my career rigorously investigating and testing dishes, strategies and extensively accepted kitchen area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run multiple hamburger joints and even composed a regular monthly column for Serious Eats called the Burger Lab, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a burger.

However that doesn't mean you can't intend for something much better. Here are the most important pointers I've discovered for enhancing your hamburger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen area. Working ground beef excessive can trigger it to become dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Bold Savory Dinner Inspiration for Busy Kitchens

In bread, this can be a great thing, however with burgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so skip it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is an excellent thing in sausages, which should have a company texture, but with burgers, you want looseness. A burger ought 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 hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a griddle, browning is taste, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them until they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes flavor while keeping juiciness. Don't 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 actually had a possibility to leak out.

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

A Complete Guide to Smashed Cooking Perfection

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a hamburger enthusiast. Growing up, I 'd gladly munch them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru getting back from gymnastics practice. I 'd squish the soft bun and let ketchup 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 right day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the very same idea of what makes the ideal burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like but I simply. Perhaps I haven't attempted your preferred hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some shining from the beef and maybe a little grease diminishing 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 secure the juices, but not too crusty.