Savory Summer Dinner Ideas for the Future

There is no end to the variety of scrumptious burgers 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 develops dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs an expert chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last two years of my career rigorously researching and evaluating recipes, methods and extensively accepted cooking area wisdom to figure out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I've operated numerous burger joints and even wrote a regular monthly column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and evaluated every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a burger.

Here are the most essential suggestions I have actually discovered 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 unwanted dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional spices, like onions and herbs, also forces 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 easily. This is a good idea in sausages, which need to have a company texture, however with burgers, you desire looseness. A hamburger must hurt, 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 essential. For thicker grilled or griddled hamburgers, wait until your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This takes full advantage of taste while maintaining juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Burgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had an opportunity 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 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).

Catch me on the right day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my favorite food. Even if you do, it's most likely we don't have the exact same idea of what makes the best burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some brand-new ones and continued to end the ones I understand people like but I just. do not. get. Yes, I understand your favorite isn't there. Possibly we have different taste. Perhaps I haven't attempted your favorite hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (simply joking).

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

When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some sparkling from the beef and maybe 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 must be scorched to assist secure the juices, however not too crusty.