Delicious Summer Dinner Inspiration for 2026

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

J. Kenji Lpez-Alt writes a column for The New York Times on food and science, and he develops recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is likewise the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Program on YouTube.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food author and cookbook author, I've invested the last 2 years of my career carefully investigating and testing dishes, strategies and extensively accepted kitchen knowledge to find out the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated several hamburger joints and even wrote a month-to-month column for Serious Eats called the Burger Laboratory, in which I separated and evaluated every possible variable that can affect the flavor and texture of a burger.

That doesn't suggest you can't aim for something much better. Here are the most crucial tips I've found for enhancing your hamburger experience, whether in the backyard or the kitchen area. Working hamburger too much can trigger it to become thick. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Optimal Heat Management for Better Grilled Burgers

In bread, this can be an advantage, but with hamburgers, overhandling can produce an unwanted dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or additional seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise requires you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the exterior of your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and assists them to link more quickly. This is a good idea in sausages, which need to have a company texture, but with burgers, you want looseness. A burger ought to hurt, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply takes full advantage of taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a huge burger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a frying pan, browning is taste, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait till your pan or grill is hot before adding the patties, and prepare them until they're well browned on both sides.

This optimizes taste while preserving juiciness. Preparing your buns ahead of time lets you get to eating a lot quicker. Credit ... Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Do not let your patties relax on the cutting board (or worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their best fresh from the fire, before any juices have had a chance to drip out.

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

How to Perfect the Ideal Griddle Burger

Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI have actually constantly been a burger lover. 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 right day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. In fact, I might state that on the majority of days. And you may state the same. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the same concept of what makes the perfect burger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, included some new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand individuals like however I simply. Maybe I haven't attempted your preferred hamburger. Perhaps I'm out to get you (just kidding).

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

When I bite in, I need to see a little shimmer, some glistening from the beef and perhaps a little grease diminishing the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty must be scorched to help secure the juices, however not too crusty.