Optimal Temperature Control for Better Grilled Burgers

There is no end to the number of tasty burgers you can make, but 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 recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and short article are part of, our series on cooking area fundamentals.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last 20 years of my profession carefully looking into and testing dishes, strategies and widely accepted cooking area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually run multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Laboratory, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a burger.

Here are the most important tips I have actually found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be an advantage, but with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted dense texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, also forces you to strain the meat and sidetrack from the beef taste, 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 a good idea in sausages, which need to have a firm texture, however with hamburgers, you want looseness. A burger ought to hurt, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York 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 essential. 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 maximizes taste while maintaining juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming so much quicker. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had an opportunity to leak out.

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

Advanced Cooking Techniques for Superior Hand-Pressed Burgers

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a burger fan. Maturing, I 'd happily munch them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru coming home from gymnastics practice. I 'd crush 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 ideal day and I might admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the same idea of what makes the ideal hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some brand-new ones and continued to end the ones I understand individuals like however I simply. do not. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Maybe we have various taste. Perhaps I haven't tried your favorite hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just kidding).

Let me share with you what makes the ideal hamburger for me. Let's begin with the patty.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some shining from the beef and maybe 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 needs to be seared to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.