I use (2) cast iron half moon grids for this cook, but a blackstone would be great as well for those folks that have one. I've had the exact half moon below in my large Egg on the PS woo and it works the exact same. I don't have a blackstone so adding a second gives me an 18" circle to work with.
Preparation is simple, start with 1.5lbs medium ground beef, two tablespoons fresh minced parsley, 6-7 cloves of minced garlic and a dash of salt and pepper. Combine ingredients in a bowl, careful not to over work the meat or it won’t smash as nicely.
Once your grill is up to temperature, place the burgers on the grill with a dollop of yellow mustard face down on the grill. The mustard helps with the caramelization. Smash and let cook for about 45-60 seconds until done. Add your cheese and serve.
Two Kamado Joe Classic III & a Kamado Joe Jr. Large BGE, Mini BGE
YouTube: @smokingdadbbq
Comments
Apparently when you donate blood, it has to be yours.
Ogden, Utard
XL BGE, LG BGE, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven, King Disc
Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!
I googled and the standard answer is smash burgers promote the Maillard reaction and get the patty more browned and crispy. I can see how that does make them brown and crispy. I don't quite see how it is different from just adding a patty to a griddle though.
I can see that a patty over coals is cooked mostly by radiant heat rather than conduction as when placed on a griddle. But can't you "smash" a preformed patty? Why does it need to start as a ball?
There's always something new to learn around here...
Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
"Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
YukonRon
Ever had a shockingly good fast-food burger at, say, a Sonic or Steak 'n Shake ( or more recently Shake Shack) where the stars must have aligned and they give you this unassuming burger with little thin patties that's just dripping in salty savory juicy goodness anyway? And you're like, "damn! It don't look like much, but that's a good burger". That's the general flavor profile of a smash burger, but better. If you have a Shake Shack near you definitely check them out... it's almost identical to what I get at home.
depending how you make them they come out different. what i do is screaming hot griddle, make the ball ahead with no salt (salting the meat ahead seems to change them in a negative way). smash them hard on the griddle 1/4 inch even less, salt, wait til they blacken up on the bottom and flip, blacken up again. what you get is a great crunch and its so fast that the middle is dripping wet. if im goiung over board with toppings ill take a larger grilled burger but these are so different theres a place for them in the lineup. for me the secret is a screaming hot DRY griddle where they stick down hard for that first char, i see others oiling it but thats not for me
When you throw a pre-formed patty on a hot metal griddle or pan, parts of its uneven surface touch the hot metal and other parts don't. You wind up with a burger surface that's partly browned and with bits that are partly gray. When you put them down as a ball and smash them down really hard until they're quite thin, you're forcing more of the burger surface down onto the hot metal, and forcing it hard, and it winds up actually sticking to the hot metal. You have to scrape them back up again a little to flip them. The result is a very much more completely browned surface of browned meat on the burger. There's a huge difference between "smashing" the meat with your hands or a burger press into a thin patty and then throwing that on a griddle versus throwing it on the hot griddle as a ball and then smashing it down on the griddle really hard. You might have to actually do it to experience how it's different.
its even more important to put the cheese on the lower bunn, then add the screaming hot burger
My favorite burger is a smashburger topped with cheese, caramelized onions and a sauce of mayo and dijon. A sloppy mess, but so good!
I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelLarge BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
"Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
YukonRon
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LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .
1) How does an inverted spatula give you better "leverage"? Leverage against... what?
2) An inverted spatula would bend the burger up at a higher angle, coming off the cooking surface; wouldn't that increase the chance of breakage?
Apparently when you donate blood, it has to be yours.
Ogden, Utard
I have some mixed 80/20 with beef fat. I may give it a go.
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LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .
I was a Herbie-The-Curbie at a Steak 'n Shake back in the '70s. I find "new discovery" of smash burgers to be amusing. Of course, everything old is new again at some point.
Does Steak 'n Shake actually smash their burgers on the griddle? I wasn't sure if they just had thin preformed patties.