Umami SMASH Burgers

NDG

I thawed 1 lb of my burger blend (chuck & short ribs) and added 2 tsp of Fish Sauce & 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce.  Thank you @griffin for the reminder and for the umami blend ratio!  I decided to try the Cast Iron SMASH method described on the link below.  I had some compound butter in the fridge and wanted to put some in the cast iron during the 2 min total cook . . . but it ignited in flames when I put a spoonful in the skillet!  I went dry and the Crust was excellent . . .  nice change of pace for burgers.

Burger Lab: smashed burger: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2012/09/the-burger-lab-smashed-burgers-vs-smashing-burgers.html?ref=search  

Eggcelsior

Nice. This is my favorite thing to do on my baking steel.

NDG

Thanks.  Do you use any fat on your baking steel before putting down the burgers?  If so, does it ever ignite?

Eggcelsior

I don't because there is plenty in the burgers. If there ever is any, it's bacon grease since I often cook bacon on the BS first.

Griffin

Very nice. I was contacted by a company called RedBoat shortly after doing that post. They sent me a bottle of their fish sauce to try, but the wife says I need to wait and finish the one we have first before opening another bottle of stuff. I'm really excited to try it. They claim:

"Red Boat is an all-natural, first press, “extra virgin” Vietnamese fish sauce. It does not contain added water, preservatives or MSG. Made from a two hundred year-old, chemical free, artisanal process, Red Boat uses only the freshest cá com (black anchovy), salted minutes after leaving the sea then slow aged for over a year in traditional wooden barrels. Red Boat anchovies are sourced exclusively from the crystal clear waters off the Phu Quoc Island archipelago."

We'll have to wait and see how good it is. They also sent me two packets of Red Boat salt Not sure what to do with that yet.

jshillin

I made some smashed burgers this week on the BGE, but I did them a bit different.  

I got my cast iron griddle up to about 600 degrees and used 2oz patties.  

I sprinkled some Dizzy Pig cow lick on one side and sea salt on the other.  Made 2 patties at a time so I could get a good hard quick smash so they were big enough to cover a bun.  After about 30 seconds flipped them, put a slice of cheese on one, waited another 30 seconds or so, put the patty on top and pulled them off.  I would say it was one of the best burger I ever made.  The wife and kids tore them up also.  

I keep reading about fish sauce on burgers...  I guess I'll have to look into that one.

NDG

@griffin . . . I use that same exact fish sauce from Red Boat - really good stuff!  It was ranked #1 on blind taste test where they tried 13 different brands - link found here:

http://ourdailybrine.com/fish-sauce-taste-test/

EDIT: I see that you just found my first post on your post . . we are crossing streams!  I am done posting for couple days - seacrest out!