Classic All-American Smash Burger

As with most of our recipes, we go for simplicity. This is no-frills awesome!

INSTRUCTIONS:

  • Use 80/20 ground chuck
  • Medium grind burger, not pressed too tight.
  • Best weight between 3 and 4 oz. depending on your crowd. DO NOT go over 4 oz. for these. You need to double up – it’s just better as a double!
  • Make them into meat balls, but not too compacted – lightly squeeze into snowball size.
  • Make sure you use real American cheese and NOT the processed cheese “product”
  • Warm your flat top up to a strong medium heat. Don’t rush, let it get up to temperature.
  • If you will have a full griddle, make sure you space the burger balls far enough apart that you have room to smash them.
  • Put a little oil on bottom of spatula – drop a little on the griddle and rub the spatula in it.
  • Smash the burger until it spreads to the edge of spatula – you should get the sizzle – this is what gives you the crust on the outside.
  • Wait until you see the blood / brown form on top, then flip but DO NOT PRESS.
  • Immediately lay the cheese on top of your burger.
  • You will get cheese runoff on the grill and this is ok.
  • Let it cook until the cheese is melted to your satisfaction – should only take 2 or 3 minutes once flipped.
  • If you have room, put your buns down on a clean section of the griddle to warm them up and get a toasty finish on the meat side of the bun.

FOLLOW UP:

These burgers cook fast! As soon as you turn 12 or 15 burgers, you need to lay the cheese down. Be ready with a large enough platter so that you don’t have to double stack – let your crowd pick which ones they want to make into their own double. 🙂

BURGER SIDE- SAUTEED MUSHROOMS AND/OR ONIONS

  • This is the time to break out your cast iron pan. We use an 8-inch frying pan and put it right on the griddle.
  • Melt about 1/3 stick of REAL BUTTER in the pan and then place your mushrooms or onions. For mushrooms, cook them down until they are done shrinking and cook onions until they are really flexible.
  • For seasoning, hit them with a pinch of salt and pepper and, if so inclined, an ounce or 2 of your favorite wine, beer, or whiskey.

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