Innovative High-End Side Fry Secrets for the Home

There is no end to the variety of tasty burgers you can make, however 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 dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've spent the last twenty years of my career rigorously researching and checking recipes, techniques and widely accepted kitchen area wisdom to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated several burger joints and even wrote a month-to-month 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 hamburger.

Here are the most crucial ideas I've discovered for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Savory Summer Dinner Inspiration for the Future

In bread, this can be a good idea, but with burgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable thick texture. (Integrating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to overwork 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 helps them to link more quickly. This is an advantage in sausages, which need to have a firm texture, but with burgers, you want looseness. A hamburger should be tender, 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 hamburger on a griddle, browning is flavor, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and cook them until they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes 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 even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had a possibility to drip out.

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

Using Chef Flat-Top Methods in the Home

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've constantly been a burger fan. 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 might confess that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the same idea of what makes the best burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know people like but I just. don't. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Perhaps we have various taste. Perhaps I haven't tried your favorite hamburger yet. Maybe I'm out to get you (simply joking).

There's one best burg out there for everyone. Let me share with you what makes the best burger for me. Let's begin with the patty. Can I state I'm growing a little worn out of smashburgers? The finest ones unbelievely stay juicy with simply a tip of flaky char around the edges, but unfortunately, most places go too tough on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some sparkling from the beef and possibly a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be scorched to help lock in the juices, however not too crusty.