The 15 Best Burger Recipes for Summer Grilling

Side view of Butter Burger — Serious Eats / Qi Ai

Over the years, we at Serious Eats have published numerous hamburger recipes, as well as explainers on various burger-related subjects, including how to create your own premium beef blend, a guide to toppings, and a handy collection of general burger-making tips. Below, we've compiled our favorite hamburger recipes, including a series of upgraded fast-food copycat recipes developed by former editor Kenji. Whether you're after a thin, crispy smash burger or an extra-thick medium-rare patty, we have a recipe for you.

May 2024

Classic Smashed Burgers

Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

These classic smashed cheeseburgers offer maximum juiciness and a deep brown, beefy crust.

Classic Smashed Burgers
Wisconsin Butter Burgers

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

Wisconsin butter burgers range from event-worthy to everyday. The butter burger that gets food writers excited and keeps cardiologists up at night is the house specialty at Solly’s in Milwaukee, where a four-ounce sirloin patty comes topped with stewed onions and a generous layer (a tablespoon or two) of soft, spreadable Badger State gold. This is that burger.

Wisconsin Butter Burgers
The Ultimate Smash Cheeseburger

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

For this upgrade on our classic smash burger, Kenji tweaked the recipe to produce twice the amount of crisp, browned crust. By cooking two 2-ounce patties instead of one 4-ounce patty, we get double the amount of crust. Meanwhile, a slice of cheese in between the patties keeps things moist.

The Ultimate Smash Cheeseburger
Oklahoma-Style Onion Burgers

Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

An Oklahoma classic, these burgers are made with a similar method to that of a classic North Jersey-style slider, but with way more onions, which help the thin patties of beef cook up extra juicy and flavorful.

Oklahoma-Style Onion Burgers

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The Juiciest Juicy Lucy

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

Turn a cheeseburger inside out and you get Minnesota’s Juicy Lucy, a beef patty with an ooey-gooey cheese center, usually nestled on a bun with pickles and griddled onions.

The Juiciest Juicy Lucy
Homemade Burger King Whopper-Style Cheeseburgers

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

This Whopper-style recipe elevates the flame-grilled classic with superior ingredients, enhanced layering, and a refined patty cooking technique: griddling thin patties mostly from one side allows for maximum crust development and browning while still retaining a nice and juicy interior.

Homemade Burger King Whopper-Style Cheeseburgers
In-N-Out's Double-Double, Animal Style

Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

Make your own version of In-N-Out's Double-Double Animal Style burger with caramelized onions, two patties, American cheese, pickles, mustard, and special sauce.

In-N-Out's Double-Double, Animal Style
The Fake Shack (or the Shack Burger at Home)

Serious Eats / Andrew Janjigian

We've got everything you need to make your own Shack Burger at home, including a homemade version of Shack Sauce. Here, we firmly press ground beef into a lightly greased pan to increase contact points, which yields burger patties with maximum crust and flavor.

The Fake Shack (or the Shack Burger at Home)

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A Better Big Mac

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Our deluxe take on the Big Mac starts with the great original concept and adds patties made from ground short rib, a touch of Marmite to the special sauce, and several incremental improvements to the bun, toppings, and the cooking process.

A Better Big Mac
The Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburgers

Serious Eats / J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

This burger is for bacon lovers. Beef patties are griddled in bacon fat, dressed with bacon-infused special sauce, smothered with onions fried in bacon fat, then topped with a crisp bacon weave.

The Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburgers
Thick and Juicy Burgers

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

After a nice and thick burger, but don't have an immersion circulator? The oven is your friend. For ultra-juicy burgers, bake your patties in a low oven to a perfect medium rare, then finish them in a hot skillet.

Thick and Juicy Burgers
Grilled Korean-Style Bulgogi Burgers With Kimchi Mayo and Pickled Daikon

Serious Eats / Emily and Matt Clifton

When we want the flavors of Korean bulgogi and the grilling method of a burger, there's an easy solution: combine them. The spicy kimchi mayo ties this sandwich together.

Grilled Korean-Style Bulgogi Burgers With Kimchi Mayo and Pickled Daikon

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Teriyaki Burgers

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

To ensure a nicely browned crust and avoid burning the sauce, burger patties are grilled first and then repeatedly painted with teriyaki sauce toward the end of cooking. More teriyaki sauce is added during assembly, along with mayo and shredded cabbage.

Teriyaki Burgers
Cemita Burger With Refried Beans, Chipotle Mayo, Avocado, and Oaxacan Cheese

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

For this mash-up of the iconic Mexican sandwich, Daniel nests burger patties on a sesame bun with traditional cemita accoutrements, including frijoles refritos, queso Oaxaca, and deliciously pungent pápalo.

Cemita Burger With Refried Beans, Chipotle Mayo, and Avocado
Wagyu Burgers

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Ground wagyu is often not all it's cracked up to be, but even if you get the real deal, does it make a worthy hamburger? We attempt to answer this question, whilst offering a recipe and general tips on cooking wagyu patties.

Wagyu Burgers

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The 15 Best Burger Recipes for Summer Grilling

May 2024

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