Smash Burgers (aka the In-N-Out style), how I do em

unoriginalusername

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.

I put together a video for those interested in more details from start to finish.  YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9Vj6PPrn7g

lkapigian

Looks good, I can walk to our In and Out about 1 block----Love smash burgers 

Botch

Never tried mustard as a browning agent on burgers before, but the results were spot-on.  Thanks!  

nolaegghead

I love to get smashed and eat burgers.

SonVolt

My absolute favorite way to cook burgers. I just use my gasser instead of the egg though b/c it's faster & more efficient. My focus is on searing not smoke flavor. 

Eggcelsior

I do 2 oz burgers and just double the patties up on the burger. More surface are equals more crunch. Also, when you go to smash, heat you spatula up for a second on the griddle, it helps keep the meat from sticking to the underside when you go to pick it up. Everything looks great!

fishlessman

the beauty of the bs smash burger is eating in three minutes

step one: light griddle on high

step two: go get burger, bunns, cheese,plate, spatula

step three: roll shitz in little balls (dont remember where i stole this from)

step four:smash burgers, add salt

step four: flip when burnt

step five: place cheese on lower bunn, top with burger

NOTE: at any given moment while creating smash burgers yell loudly over and over...we need onions, ketchup, mustard, relish, tomatoes

ColtsFan

fishlessman said:

the beauty of the bs smash burger is eating in three minutes

step one: light griddle on high

step two: go get burger, bunns, cheese,plate, spatula

step three: roll shitz in little balls (dont remember where i stole this from)

step four:smash burgers, add salt

step four: flip when burnt

step five: place cheese on lower bunn, top with burger

NOTE: at any given moment while creating smash burgers yell loudly over and over...we need onions, ketchup, mustard, relish, tomatoes

I must have sauteed mushrooms and onions when I do smash burgers.

SciAggie

I've never made smash burgers. Can someone explain how they really differ from grilled burgers. This is a genuine question - not trolling.

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...

SonVolt

SciAggie said:

I've never made smash burgers. Can someone explain how they really differ from grilled burgers. This is a genuine question - not trolling.

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...

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. 

fishlessman

SciAggie said:

I've never made smash burgers. Can someone explain how they really differ from grilled burgers. This is a genuine question - not trolling.

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...

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

SonVolt

Smash Burgers demand Big Mac style sauce... 

Theophan

SciAggie said:

I've never made smash burgers. ... I don't quite see how it is different from just adding a patty to a griddle though.

I like smash burgers, though they're not my favorite.  But there's a big difference in taste and I'm not sure you can appreciate the difference without actually doing it.

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.

nolaegghead

Agree with fish that you shouldn't add salt to the burger mix, but add after smashing.

SonVolt

That's a good general rule of thumb for any burger IMO. 

fishlessman

nolaegghead said:

Agree with fish that you shouldn't add salt to the burger mix, but add after smashing.

its even more important to put the cheese on the lower bunn, then add the screaming hot burger cheese belongs on the bottom

Carolina Q

I haven't had anything other than a smashburger since I had my first one. Love 'em! I use a plasterers trowel to smash to 1/2" thickness, then s&p. When the crust has developed, I scrape the burger off the griddle and flip. Then add the cheese and wait for the crust to develop on the other side and the cheese to melt. Pretty much the way the guy who supposedly "invented" them does it (per Youtube videos). Though I think he uses butter and I use a dry griddle.

My favorite burger is a smashburger topped with cheese, caramelized onions and a sauce of mayo and dijon. A sloppy mess, but so good!

Eggcelsior

Another good technique is to scrape the burger up with the spatula upside down. It gives better leverage and prevents tearing/breaking apart the burger.

SciAggie

Thanks for the explanation. I'll give them a try.

SonVolt

Eggcelsior said:

 Also, when you go to smash, heat you spatula up for a second on the griddle, it helps keep the meat from sticking to the underside when you go to pick it up. 

I'll have to give this a try. Half the meat sticking to the spatula after the smash is always the hardest part. I had been spraying Pam on the spatula to combat this. 

JethroBodeen

Is cast iron the preferred way to do this?

Cornholio

JethroBodeen said:

Is cast iron the preferred way to do this?

Thats what I use on my egg, cast iron griddle. Blackstone seems to be an even better choice for simplicity. Teppanyaki and smash burgers are driving me towards buying a blackstone soon. 

JethroBodeen

Cornholio said:

JethroBodeen said:

Is cast iron the preferred way to do this?

Thats what I use on my egg, cast iron griddle. Blackstone seems to be an even better choice for simplicity. Teppanyaki and smash burgers are driving me towards buying a blackstone soon. 

Thanks! I'm not even remotely interested in a Blackstone. I

ll stick with a CI skillet.

shtgunal3

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 like to sauté some jalapeños and put them between the cheese and burger. Then top with mustard and dill pickles.

SonVolt

JethroBodeen said:

Is cast iron the preferred way to do this?

Something with minimal sides so it doesn’t get in the way of the spatula smash. Regular cast iron skillets can be a pain. 

Botch

Another good technique is to scrape the burger up with the spatula upside down. It gives better leverage and prevents tearing/breaking apart the burger.

This one, I'm not understanding at all.  
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?  

nolaegghead

Botch said:

Another good technique is to scrape the burger up with the spatula upside down. It gives better leverage and prevents tearing/breaking apart the burger.

This one, I'm not understanding at all.  
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?  

Puts more force on the edge.  Old chef trick.  Works, trust me.

shtgunal3

Has anyone tried making smash burgers with ground venison or any other wild game meat?

I have some mixed 80/20 with beef fat. I may give it a go.

JethroBodeen

shtgunal3 said:

Has anyone tried making smash burgers with ground venison or any other wild game meat?

I have some mixed 80/20 with beef fat. I may give it a go.

Do it! I'd love to hear the results...

rekameohs

SonVolt said:

Ever had a shockingly good fast-food burger at, say, a Sonic or Steak 'n Shake ( or more recently Shake Shack)

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.

SonVolt

rekameohs said:

SonVolt said:

Ever had a shockingly good fast-food burger at, say, a Sonic or Steak 'n Shake ( or more recently Shake Shack)

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.