Crafting Golden-Brown French Fries in Your Home

There is no end to the number of delicious burgers you can make, but 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 establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube. This video and article belong to, our series on kitchen principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last twenty years of my profession rigorously researching and evaluating dishes, methods and widely accepted kitchen wisdom to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated numerous hamburger joints and even composed a regular monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a burger.

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

Using Chef Griddle Methods in the Home

In bread, this can be a good thing, but with hamburgers, overhandling can create an undesirable dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, also requires you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so avoid 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 connect more quickly. This is an advantage in sausages, which must have a company texture, however with hamburgers, you desire looseness. A burger ought to be tender, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

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 flavor, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and prepare them till they're well browned on both sides.

This takes full advantage of flavor while preserving 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 relax on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a possibility to drip out.

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

Savory Outdoor Dinner Inspiration for 2026

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a burger enthusiast. 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).

Capture me on the right day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the very same idea of what makes the ideal hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to end the ones I know people like however I just. do not. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Perhaps we have different taste. Maybe I haven't tried your favorite hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just joking).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some glowing from the beef and perhaps 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 must be scorched to help secure the juices, however not too crusty.