A ground beef patty served in a sliced bun, an American icon with deep German roots, now globally pervasive.
From Hamburg to the diner counter
The “Hamburg steak” — a patty of seasoned chopped beef — came to America with German immigrants in the 19th century and was sold cheaply at port-side eateries in New York. Multiple American towns claim to have first served it inside a bun. Louis Lassen of New Haven, Connecticut, served it on toast in 1900; Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin, claims a 1885 version sold at a county fair. The exact first is disputed.
What makes a great burger
The fundamentals are simple: well-marbled ground beef (around 20% fat), salt only at the moment of cooking, high heat for a Maillard crust, and a soft enriched bun that doesn’t fight the patty. Smashed-style burgers (hand-pressed thin onto a screaming-hot griddle) maximize surface browning.
Cheese, smash, juicy, double
Modern variations explode in every direction — smash burgers, single/double/triple stacks, butter burgers, juicy Lucys (cheese stuffed inside the patty), Oklahoma-style with onions cooked into the surface. Vegetarian and plant-based patties (Beyond, Impossible) have made the form portable across diets.
Find more foods by letter
Hamburger starts with H and ends with R. Browse other foods along the same letter.
Foods that contain a letter from "Hamburger":