Creative Modern Dinner Inspiration for Busy Home Cooks

There is no end to the variety of tasty hamburgers 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 establishes dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I've invested the last 20 years of my career rigorously investigating and testing recipes, methods and extensively accepted cooking area knowledge to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated several hamburger joints and even wrote a monthly column for Serious Consumes called the Burger Laboratory, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a burger.

But that doesn't mean you can't intend for something much better. Here are the most crucial tips I have actually discovered for enhancing your burger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Working ground beef excessive can trigger it to end up being thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Top-Rated Savory Burger Templates for the Season

In bread, this can be a good thing, however with hamburgers, overhandling can create an undesirable thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra flavoring, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to strain the meat and distract from the beef taste, so skip it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a great thing in sausages, which need to have a company texture, but with hamburgers, you desire looseness. A burger ought to be tender, with plenty of pockets for juices and rendered fat to gather.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply makes the most of taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and cook them until they're well browned on both sides.

This takes full advantage of flavor 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 actually had a chance to drip out.

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

Optimal Heat Control for Savory Seared Burgers

Updated May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually always been a burger fan. Growing up, I 'd gladly chomp them down at sit-down restaurants and from the drive-thru getting back from gymnastics practice. I 'd squish the soft bun and let catsup 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).

Capture me on the best day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the same concept of what makes the perfect burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like however I just. Perhaps I have not tried your favorite hamburger. Maybe I'm out to get you (simply kidding).

Let me share with you what makes the best burger for me. Let's start with the patty.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some shining from the beef and maybe a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be seared to help lock in the juices, but not too crusty.