Essential Summer Grilling Hacks

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

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt composes a column for The New York Times on food and science, and he establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and article belong to, our series on cooking area basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last two years of my career carefully investigating and testing recipes, strategies and widely accepted kitchen knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've run numerous hamburger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most essential pointers I've found for optimizing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be a good thing, however with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable dense texture. (Incorporating extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to strain the meat and sidetrack from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a good thing in sausages, which should have a company texture, however with hamburgers, you desire looseness. A burger should be tender, with plenty 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 hamburger on a griddle, browning is taste, and high heat is crucial. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait until 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 preserving 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 had a chance to leak out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York 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.

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Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a hamburger 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 ideal day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's likely we don't have the 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 end the ones I understand individuals like but I just. don't. get. Yes, I know your favorite isn't there. Perhaps we have various taste. Possibly I have not attempted your favorite burger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just joking).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some sparkling from the beef and perhaps a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be seared to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.