Smash Burgers
There’s nothing quite as satisfying as this delicious homemade smash burgers cooked on the griddle and served with your favorite toppings and a killer homemade burger sauce.
Our smash burger recipe is a simple recipe that comprises of a perfectly seasoned thin beef patty with crispy edges, paired with brioche bun, lettuce, tomatoes, and our fabulous homemade burger sauce. If you want to learn how to make the best smash burgers, you’ve come to the right place!
What are Smash Burgers
Our classic homemade burgers were such a hit, we wanted to offer up another delicious way to make burgers for the upcoming spring and summer season!
Smash burgers are a way to cook burgers where you smash round ground beef balls directly onto a hot flattop griddle or a cast iron griddle (tank powered grills work too!), resulting in burgers that are flat and thin with caramelized edges, browned crust, and lots of flavor and texture.
P/s: that caramelized edges are EVERYTHING.
You’ll notice that the burger meat patty is flatter than usual and shape is a little different…it will not be perfectly round like a classic burger patty, but instead it will take the shape of whatever form is decides to take after being smashed 🙂
We strongly believe in seasoning our burgers well. Bland meat just isn’t tasty! We are using this simple trick of incorporating lots of flavor into the ground beef by mixing in Dale’s Seasoning (flavorful blend of garlic, salt, black pepper, soy sauce, and lots of other good stuff).
Just one ingredient, but plenty of amazing flavors.
The concept of smash burgers has been around for a while, but there’s a surge of its popularity in the past decade or so where all the food critics, chefs, hipsters and foodies and Instagram-ers decided that it’s the best thing in the world.
I like it because it is easy to make, and you can bring lots of amazing flavors and textures to the burger patty.
Why spend lots of money and buy burgers when you can make them EVEN BETTER at home!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients that you will need to make these smash burgers:
- ground beef – use ground beef with at least 20% fat content for best taste. Burgers will be dryer if the beef is too lean.
- Dale’s seasoning – this is a steak seasoning that works like magic on burger meat! You can use any of your favorite seasonings, I just like the flavors Dale’s brings because it combines ingredients such as garlic, onion, soy sauce, and paprika in it in addition to salt.
- burger buns – we love a brioche bun with a hint of sweetness, but feel free to use your favorite bread.
- burger toppings – going with the classic lettuce, tomato, and cheese…feel free to add your favorite toppings!
Burger Sauce Ingredients
This deserve it’s one little section because I am kinda obsessed with this sauce:
- mayonnaise – use Hellman’s for best taste
- ketchup
- garlic – use freshly minced garlic for best flavor.
- smoked paprika – this gives your sauce a nice smoky kick. Regular paprika works just fine as well.
Kitchen Equipments
To make smash burgers you will first of all need
- a griddle or a flat surface cast iron to smash those beef onto. You can use a skillet, but the sides may make it slightly more challenging to do the ‘smashing’, and it doesn’t withstand the level of high heat a cast iron would. High heat will ensure better caramelization of the burger.
- flat metal spatula to do the actual smashing.
How to make smash burger
Toast Burger Buns
Toast burger buns on griddle or in a toaster oven.
Make Smash Burger Patties
Mix together ground beef and Dale’s seasoning (or seasoning/soy sauce you prefer – also see ways to season beef below) in a large mixing bowl. Do not overwork beef.
Divide beef into equal portions and roll the grounded beef into round meatballs about the size of a baseball.
Preheat griddle and add cooking oil to it. Once griddle is nice and hot, place about meatballs on griddle spaced apart.
Grease the back of a flat metal spatula, and use it to press the meatballs down until it is flat. Keep pressing every now and then as it will puff up slightly as it cooks.
Once the bottom of the meat patties are browned and caramelized, flip them and cook the other side.
When burgers are completely cooked, place a slice of cheese on top of each patty and let the cheese melt.
Once cheese are melted, remove patties from griddle.
Put Together Killer Burger Sauce
Chop or minced 1 clove of garlic, then mix it along with ketchup, mayo and smoked paprika to create the burger sauce.
Assemble
Once your meat is done cooking, get ready for a whole lot of flavor and fun as you load the meat, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes between the (toasted) buns, and smear that burger sauce all over…and then just crank out as many burgers as you want to eat!
Double patty it up if you’d like!
Serve it with some fries for a classic smash burger meal!
This thick, juicy, flavorful burger is truly one for the books.
Tips and Tricks
- Opt for a Skillet or Griddle: Non-stick pans might not be able to withstand the high heat needed to sear the burgers. Stainless steel, cast iron, or a quality grill griddle are all ideal options.
- Quality Matters: Use high-quality ground beef with a good fat ratio. Ideally, you want a 80/20 meat-to-fat ratio. The fat is where a lot of the flavor is!
- The Smash Technique: You’ll want to make sure the pan is hot before adding the meat and smashing it to seal in the juices. Press down on the patty with a heavy spatula to get that super crispy, crunchy crust. Grease the back of a heavy spatula that will come in contact with the meat to prevent sticking. Apply firm, even pressure to smash the burger down. Apply pressure for about 10 seconds per patty. Use a meat tenderizer or another tool to help apply even more pressure to the spatula if you need the extra muscle strength.
- Incorporate a Seasoning: Incorporating Dale seasoning is an easy way to bring additional flavors to the burgers because you want the beef patties to be actually flavorful. Lucky for us, smash burgers do offer an extra layer of flavor by the ‘smash’ technique itself due to the caramelization.
- Avoid Over-Crowding: Make sure to spread the patties out to ensure evenly distributed heat and space for proper smashing. Overcrowding the pan can lower the temperature and lead to steaming rather than searing the burgers.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Avoid overcooking. Remember, these are thin patties and don’t need a lot of time on the heat.
2. Use ground beef with at least 20% fat or more. The more fat the more moist (and flavorful) the patties will be.
3. Make sure the pan/griddle is hot before adding the patties, and patties make full contact with the hot surface of the pan/griddle when smashed down to create a flavorful crust while sealing in the juices.
A good crust forms when the burger is seared at a high heat for the right amount of time. Make sure your pan is adequately heated. Also, refrain from moving the burger around once it’s cooking. Let the crust develop before flipping it only once.
Ensure that your surface is greased and well heated before adding the beef. You can also spray/rub a bit of oil on the back of the spatula (before smashing) to prevent sticking.
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More Delicious Summer Recipes
If you love these smash burgers, I think you will enjoy these as well!
Smash Burgers
Equipment
Ingredients
Burger Patties
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1½ tbsp Dale's seasoning
Burger Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ⅛ tsp smoked paprika
Burger Toppings
- 4 burger buns
- 4 tomato slices
- 4 leaves of lettuce
- 4 slices of cheese
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, thoroughly mix ground beef and Dale's seasoning without over mixing the meat.
- Split the meat into 4 equal parts. Mold each parts with hands and fingers into 4 balls. Press as you mold them into balls to pack the ground beef together tightly. Set aside.
- Heat griddle to medium high heat. Spray with vegetable oil.
- Once griddle is hot, bring split buns onto griddle and lightly toast it. Remove once the edges are browned.
- Next, spray with more vegetable oil, and make sure griddle heats up again. Once griddle is hot, place the 4 balls of meat onto the griddle.
- Using a large heavy metal kitchen spatula, firmly press down each ball for 10 seconds one at a time to create a flat and thin burger patty.
- Continue cooking until you see a nice charred color. Then flip and cook the other side of the patties. During the last 10-15 seconds, add a slice on cheese to each of the patty and let it melt. Remove meat from heat.
- Mix the mayo, ketchup, garlic, and paprika in a small mixing bowl to make the burger sauce.
- Assemble burger by loading burger buns with meat (and cheese), lettuce, tomatoes and burger sauce. You can even double patty it up if you'd like!
- Serve and enjoy!
