Essential Outdoor Grilling Tips

There is no end to the number of scrumptious 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 city 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. This video and short article belong to, our series on kitchen basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last 20 years of my profession carefully researching and testing dishes, techniques and widely accepted cooking area knowledge to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated multiple hamburger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Eats called the Burger Laboratory, in which I isolated and tested every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a burger.

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

The Complete Guide to Smashed Cooking Perfection

In bread, this can be a great thing, but with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an undesirable thick texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef taste, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

This is a great thing in sausages, which must have a company texture, however with burgers, you want 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 huge burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is flavor, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This maximizes flavor while maintaining juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to consuming a lot faster. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Do not let your patties relax on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Restaurant BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Thick Yard BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.

The Complete Guide to Smashed Grilling Perfection

Updated 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 best day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Actually, I may say that on the majority of days. And you may state the same. However even if you do, it's likely we don't have the same idea of what makes the ideal hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

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

There's one best burg out there for everybody. Let me share with you what makes the ideal hamburger for me. Let's start with the patty. Can I state I'm growing a little exhausted of smashburgers? The best ones astonishingly remain juicy with simply a tip of flaky char around the edges, however sadly, the majority of places go too hard on the smash.

When I bite in, I require to see a little sparkle, some glistening from the beef and perhaps a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always go with a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be scorched to help secure the juices, but not too crusty.