Top-Rated Gourmet Burger Templates for the Season

There is no end to the number of tasty hamburgers you can make, however 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 develops dishes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the creator and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and article belong to, our series on kitchen basics.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I have actually spent the last 20 years of my career carefully investigating and evaluating dishes, strategies and commonly accepted kitchen area wisdom to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated several burger joints and even composed a month-to-month column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Laboratory, in which I separated and checked every possible variable that can impact the taste and texture of a hamburger.

Here are the most crucial tips I have actually discovered for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the kitchen. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Choosing the Best Meats for Tasty Burgers

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

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and assists them to connect more quickly. This is a good idea in sausages, which ought to have a company texture, however with hamburgers, you desire looseness. A burger ought to hurt, with lots of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Whether you're making a huge hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash hamburger on a frying pan, browning is flavor, and high heat is key. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and cook them until they're well browned on both sides.

This makes the most of taste while preserving juiciness. Do not 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 a chance to leak out.

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

Selecting High-Quality Meats for Tasty Burgers

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a hamburger fan. 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 ideal day and I might confess that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Really, I might state that on a lot of days. And you may say the exact same. However even if you do, it's most likely we do not have the same idea of what makes the perfect burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like however I just. Maybe I haven't attempted your preferred hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (just kidding).

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

When I bite in, I require to see a little shimmer, some shining from the beef and maybe a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I constantly opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be scorched to assist secure the juices, but not too crusty.