Keys to Good Smashburgers

dmourati

I made smashburgers again tonight and turned out some of my best results to date. It got me thinking, what are the keys to good smashburgers?

Keys:
1. 80/20 ground beef
2. Good flat cooking surface (Pizza Steel for me)
3. Good smashing/flipping tool
4. American cheese
5. Salt and pepper during the cook process
6. Butter and toast the buns
7. Right number and amount of condiments



So, what are your keys to good smashburgers?

CornfedMA

  8. Right portions per patty. Bigger is not necessarily better. 
  9. Use a good melting cheese.

10. Let the cooking surface get good and hot. 11. Have everything prepped and ready to go. 

12. Caramelized onions. 

and don’t try to put them on a plate sideways...

Langner91

13. A little cooking spray on the raw meat helps the sear and the turn.

fence0407

14. A Blackstone Griddle

shtgunal3

14. Make into a ball and salt and pepper before the smash.
15. Bacon

fishlessman

no oil on the blackstone, the burger needs to stick to the surface to get that crunch/ hard sear so quick it holds the juice in.  put the cheese on the cooked lower bunn, the sizzling burger on top, its hot enough to melt the cheese and it sticks the burger to the lower bun. prevents the slipping of the burger in the bun

Kayak

Now let's hear your plan for Turkey smash burgers...

Low fat, high gluey-ness. It's not impossible, but it is tricky! I've had most of my success with just going at it as normal, but I'd like to have a 'healthy' choice that was easy to make.

Botch

For turkey, I'd spray your "smasher" with cooking spray (won't have to for flipping).  

fishlessman

maybe coat with bread crumbs to help with the stickyness or coat with flour and use a little oil

hoosier_egger

I like to use 3 oz burger balls and make a triple 

CornfedMA

Botch said:

For turkey, I'd spray your "smasher" with cooking spray (won't have to for flipping).  

I also find that letting your flipper/smasher heat up on the cooking surface helps immensely. Heat it, smash it, leave it on the patty for a bit while I starts to cook the top slightly, take it off gently, good to go. 

rockymountaineggster

Someone on here suggested leaving the ball of meat on the very hot surface for 20 to 30 seconds or so initially, flipping the ball over to the other side and then smashing to avoid sticking to the smasher. This tip helped me a ton with that issue.

stv8r

Yumm just yumm!

dweebs0r

Trip to the hardware store first.  Big trowel for smashing the burger and a scraper for getting it off the grill.  Both work perfect.  A little parchment paper helps when smashing on well seasoned cast iron so it doesn't stick to the trowel. 

womaus

Cheap, tasteless run of the mill hamburger buns
Mayonaise on the buns for toasting, rather than butter
2 oz patties, 2 per sandwich
80/20, or better yet 75/25 if you can find it
Cheapest american cheese you can find. Or splurge for Velveeta
Smash sauce spread on the buns after toasting, before assembling
Smash sauce (mayonnaise, ketchup, spicy brown mustard, minced hamburger pickles, paprika,salt and fresh ground black pepper)
Super hot griddle with good thickness, the burgers are super thin, they cook quickly and with good char. Thick griddle will hold the heat

I use a MoJoe on a 22" Weber Kettle. 

Yeah, I know, not a Smashburger, but it shows the griddle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htfB6S-euVM&t=467s

And this is by far the best smash tool. Easy to press hard and evenly when you're right over the center of the meat. Keep a regular spatula (as shown above) handy for the inevitable scraping you'll need to do

https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1228249/keys-to-good-smashburgers

dweebs0r

I like that burger smasher.  Is that this item?  --> Amazon link  

womaus

That's the exact one. I've got a couple of them. Fun to use. I don't think I spent $40 on it though.

Vollrath Yellow Handled 1.6 Pound Steak Weight

https://www.vollrathfoodservice.com/products/smallwares/kitchen-essentials/miscellaneous-tools/nsf-certified-steak-weights

Botch

I just used my meat pounder, smooth finish on the bottom, heavy, and I already had it:
 

 

Corv

To keep the spatula from sticking when I do the smash, I butter the bottom of the spatula. Oil or bacon fat would work too.

And with the top of the ball of meat still not hot - the ball just got to the pan, remember - I press on the top of the spatula with my hand to help spread the meat. Works great. The pan can be at 500+ (and ought to be, that's a goal; I use an IR thermometer) and my hand stays cool and splatter-free. No need for a fancy smashburger-presser-downer.