Steps to Perfect the Ideal Flat-Top Patty

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

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. 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 developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and post belong to, our series on kitchen area basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last 20 years of my profession carefully researching and checking dishes, methods and extensively accepted kitchen area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated multiple burger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can affect the taste and texture of a burger.

That doesn't imply you can't intend for something much better. Here are the most crucial ideas I've discovered for enhancing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen. Working hamburger excessive can trigger it to end up being dense. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be a good idea, but with burgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra spices, like onions and herbs, also requires you to exhaust the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is an excellent thing in sausages, which need to have a company texture, however with hamburgers, you want looseness. A burger must be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply maximizes flavor. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a huge burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a griddle, browning is taste, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes taste while preserving juiciness. Do not let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip 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 constantly been a hamburger lover. Maturing, I 'd gladly chew 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 confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Really, I might say that on most days. And you may state the same. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the same concept of what makes the best burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I know people like however I just. Maybe I haven't attempted your preferred hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just joking).

There's one best burg out there for everybody. Let me share with you what makes the best hamburger for me. Let's start with the patty. Can I say I'm growing a little sick of smashburgers? The finest ones astonishingly stay juicy with simply a tip of flaky char around the edges, however regrettably, many places go too difficult on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some glowing from the beef and possibly a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always choose a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty should be scorched to assist lock in the juices, however not too crusty.