Smash Burgers - Crispy, Juicy Perfection
Smash Burgers combine cold ground beef balls that are smashed on a griddle, salted, topped with cheese, and loaded onto a bun with homemade special sauce.
Servings: 4
Equipment
Ingredients
Base ingredients
- 4 brioche buns or any hamburger bun you like
- 1 3/4 pounds ground chuck
- 8 slices American cheese
- 1/2 cup fined diced onion
- 12 pickle chips
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt about 1/4 teaspoon per patty
For the sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons sweet relish
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Form the meat into 8 equal sized balls, place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, and refrigerate until ready to cook. The meat needs to be cold before cooking.
- While the meat is chilling, mix the sauce ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper to taste then set aside.
- Heat a griddle pan to medium-high heat and grill the buns, cut-side down, until they are slightly browned. Remove the buns to a platter.
- Place a cold ball of meat onto the griddle leaving enough room to smash the burger. Place a small piece of parchment paper on top of the ball then press the meat down with a burger press until about 1/4" thickness. Sprinkle a 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt per patty. Repeat for as many balls that can fit on the griddle. Leave the other balls in the fridge to keep cold. Note: a 2 burner grill pan can do 4 patties at a time.
- After 2 minutes, flip the burgers and add 1 slice of cheese per patty. To melt the cheese quickly cover with tented foil or a lid. Cook the burgers for 1 minute more then remove to a platter. Repeat for remaining patties.
- Spread a thick layer of the sauce on each top bun. Place 2 patties with cheese onto each bottom bun and top with diced onion and 3 pickles. Close the burgers and serve with more smash burger sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
- Griddle pan. Smash burgers can be made indoors in any pan, but a 2 burner griddle pan works best for multiple patties. For outdoors, a cast iron griddle pan is great for throwing on top of a grill or a dedicated flattop griddle such as a Blackstone works best.
- Meat ball size. Each ball should weigh approximately 3.5oz or 100g. If you want bigger patties, use 2 pounds of ground chuck which will make 8 4 ounce (120g) patties.
- Keep the beef cold. The beef should go straight from the fridge to the griddle pan. The firmer the beefs fat, the more moisture and juiciness will be locked in the burger. Room temp balls will melt quickly and produce a dryer smash burger.
- Salt the patties after smashing them. Salting ahead of time will draw out the moisture, which we do not want for smash burgers.
- Smash with parchment paper. Use a small piece of parchment paper between the meat ball and burger smasher to prevent any sticking.
- Wrapping technique. Wrapping the burgers in foil, especially if you plan to double or triple this recipe, will keep the burgers warm for up to 45 minutes.
- Leftovers. Smash burgers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the oven wrapped in foil until warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 877kcal | Carbohydrates: 43.9g | Protein: 47.8g | Fat: 53.7g | Saturated Fat: 20.9g | Cholesterol: 188mg | Sodium: 1444mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 11.5g | Calcium: 224mg | Iron: 5mg
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