The Cook's Book

Meat

Smash Burgers

Thin, lacy-edged patties smashed onto a very hot pan, double-stacked with cheese

Serves
4
Hands-on
Total
Level
Easy

A smash burger is pressed hard and thin onto very hot metal in its first seconds, so a huge surface area browns into a craggy, deeply savory crust. Two thin patties with melted cheese, soft buns and a tangy sauce make a better burger at home than a thick one, and it cooks in two minutes.

Smash Burgers: Thin, lacy-edged patties smashed onto a very hot pan, double-stacked with cheese

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 4 tbspmayonnaise
  • 1 tbspketchup
  • 1 tbspyellow mustard
  • 1 tbspfinely chopped dill pickleplus 1 tsp pickle brine

Burgers

  • 600 gground beef chuck (1⅓ lb)20% fat, very cold
  • 6 gfine sea salt (1 tsp)
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 slicesAmerican cheese or mild cheddar
  • 4soft burger buns (potato or brioche)
  • 15 gunsalted butter (1 tbsp)soft, for the buns
  • 1small white onionsliced paper-thin
  • 8 slicesdill pickle
  • 4lettuce leavesiceberg or butter lettuce
Allergens
gluten, milk, egg, mustard, sesame, sulphites
Origin
United States
Season
Summer, All

Method

  1. Mix the sauce ingredients. Divide the beef into 8 loose balls of 75 g each; don't compact them. Keep them in the fridge until the pan is hot.
  2. Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them in a large cast-iron or heavy steel pan over medium heat until golden, 1 minute. Set aside.
  3. Turn the heat to high and heat the dry pan for 3–4 minutes, until it's smoking hot. Put 2–3 balls in the pan, well apart.
  4. Immediately lay a square of parchment over a ball and smash it flat with a heavy, stiff spatula (press with a second spatula or a pan on top) to about 5 mm thick, with ragged edges. Do this within the first 10 seconds. Repeat. Season the tops with salt and pepper.
  5. Cook without moving until the edges are deep brown and lacy and the top is turning gray, about 90 seconds. Scrape firmly under each patty with the spatula, keeping the crust attached, and flip.
  6. Lay a cheese slice on each patty and cook 30–45 seconds more. Ground beef must reach 71°C (160°F); with patties this thin, they're there once the underside is browned and juices run clear. Stack two patties on top of each other.
  7. Build the burgers: sauce on both bun halves, lettuce and pickles on the bottom, the double patty, then onion. Serve at once. Repeat with the rest, wiping the pan if it smokes heavily.

Why it works

Smashing the cold ball into very hot steel maximizes contact so the Maillard reaction browns the whole surface in seconds, creating far more flavor per bite than a thick patty. Cold fat stays in the meat longer, and 20% fat keeps such thin patties juicy. Only smash at the start: pressing later squeezes out juice instead of making crust.

Common mistakes

  • Smashing after the patty has started cooking. Press only in the first 10 seconds.
  • A pan that isn't hot enough. You need a hard sizzle and a little smoke.
  • Lean beef. 20% fat is essential.

Variations

Oklahoma onion burger
Pile a handful of paper-thin onion on each ball and smash the onion into the meat; flip so it caramelizes underneath.
Single patty
Make 4 balls of 150 g and smash to 1 cm; cook 2–3 minutes a side to 71°C (160°F).

Make ahead and storage

Portion the beef up to a day ahead and refrigerate. Burgers are best cooked to order.

Notes

Wear long sleeves; the fat spits. A griddle or plancha on a barbecue works well.

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