Best basic Hamburger Recipe

The key to crafting the perfect burger patty lies in simplicity—no need for a bunch of extra ingredients to create the juiciest, most flavorful burger. After testing countless recipes, this one remains our favorite.

We’re passionate about burgers, so we dedicated time to perfecting our approach to the ultimate homemade patty. What we discovered is that keeping it basic is the way to go. If you’re after a thinner, crispier, and more caramelized patty, give our homemade smash burgers a try!

These homemade burgers offer a rich and meaty taste, with a punch of zesty herbs that can be customized with your preferred flavors. A few simple key ingredients help to consistently create hamburger, no matter which cooking method you prefer.

 

Essential Components

It might seem unusual, but our straightforward burger recipe includes just key elements:

• Cheese – for a true cheeseburger experience, opt for the processed cheese.
• Onion – If you’re not a fan of raw onion, you can either dice then scatter over the sauce on the base of the bun or cook it in a little oil with a pinch of salt and pepper .

• Ground beef: To achieve the most flavorful and juicy burgers, opt for meat with 15% to 20% fat. Reducing the fat content results in less flavor and drier patties.
• Salt and pepper: I season the patty like I would a steak, applying the seasoning to the outside rather than mixing it into the meat.

• Gherkins – large is just more practical so you only need a few slices to cover the burger. If you only have the small ones on hand, slice them lengthwise rather than into rounds. 

How to do and serve homemade hamburger?

Form a ground beef. The method I prefer for cooking burgers is using a cast iron pan or a flat-top grill. I heat the pan on medium, melt a bit of butter, and then cook the burgers for 2 to 3 minutes on each side gently pressing with a spatula. 

The key here is to press lightly—we don’t want tough, dry patties that have lost all their juiciness during cooking! Flip the patties, then quickly add the cheese and cook for another 1 1/2 minutes.

Soft white buns, ideally topped with sesame seeds, are the only choice. 

The softness is key, allowing the bun to meld perfectly with all the fillings. While crusty artisan breads have their place, this is not the moment for them .

The green stuff and pickled stuff : For a classic backyard barbecue twist, load up your homemade burger with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and a touch of mayo and mustard. 

For my ultimate burger, I stack two thin patties, each topped with melted American cheese, and pile on tomatoes, pickles, crispy fried onions, and a sauce. Other delicious options include red onions, ketchup, and buttered, grilled buns. 

Pair it with onion rings or sweet potato fries for the perfect meal.

Place the freshly cooked patties on hamburger buns and top them with your favorite fixings and sauces. A personal favorite of mine is Big Mac Sauce!

This is the order in which I like to build burgers because I think it’s the most structurally stable. Anybody who’s bitten into a giant burger only to have a slice of tomato jettisoned out the other end knows exactly what I’m talking about!