Dude Food

Smash Burgers

Thin, crispy-edged, lacy. The only burger worth making indoors.

Jump to recipe

Prep
10 min
Cook
10 min
Total
20 min
Makes
4 double burgers
Difficulty
easy

A smash burger is about surface area. You press a loose ball of beef hard onto a ripping-hot surface so the Maillard crust forms before the inside overcooks. Double them up. Always double them up.

Ingredients

Sauce

Toppings

Gear

  • cast iron skillet or flat-top
  • parchment paper
  • stiff metal spatula

Method

Tap a step to mark where you are. Tap a time to start a timer.

  1. Make the sauce

    Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Taste. It should be tangy and a little sweet. Park it in the fridge.

  2. Toast the buns

    Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them face-down in the skillet over medium heat until golden. Set aside. Wipe the pan.

  3. Get the pan hot

    Crank the skillet to high and let it sit until it is just starting to smoke. If it is not smoking, you are not ready.

  4. Smash

    Drop two beef balls in the pan with space between them. Cover each with a square of parchment and smash down hard with the spatula, flattening to about a quarter inch. Hold for ten seconds. Pull the parchment. Salt and pepper the tops generously.

  5. Sear

    Cook untouched until the edges go dark and lacy and the top is mostly grey. Do not move them.

  6. Flip and cheese

    Scrape under the patty with the spatula edge to lift all the crust, flip, and immediately lay a cheese slice on each. Cook another thirty seconds.

  7. Stack

    Stack two patties on a bottom bun, add onion and pickles, slather sauce on the top bun, and close it. Repeat for the rest. Eat standing at the stove.

Notes

  • tipKeep the beef cold right up until it hits the pan. Warm fat smears instead of crisping.
  • tipA thin, stiff metal spatula matters more than any other piece of gear here. A flimsy one cannot scrape the crust loose.
  • variationOklahoma style: pile the thin onions on the raw ball before smashing so they fry into the patty.
  • warningThis smokes. Open a window, run the vent, and take the battery out of the smoke alarm if it is the dramatic type.