Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Flat burgers

Any fancy tools available to keep burgers flat while grilling? Mine come out looking like hunks of meat. 
Atlanta GA. 

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.

Comments

  • Posts: 1,535
    Put a dimple/indent in the patty before grilling.  Not large, thumb size or spoon.
    Dave
    Cambridge, Ontario - Canada
    Large (2010), Mini Max (2015), Large garden pot (2018)
  • Posts: 1,524
    bump
    Northern New Jersey
     XL - Woo2, AR      L (2) - Woo, PS Woo     MM (2) - Woo       MINI

    Check out https://www.grillingwithpapaj.com for some fun and more Grilling with Papa (incase you haven't gotten enough of me)

    Also, check out my YouTube Page
    https://www.youtube.com/c/grillingwithpapaj

    Follow me on Facebook 
    https://www.facebook.com/GrillingPapaJ/

  • You're probably about to be bombarded with smashburger recommendations. 

    Little Rock, AR

  • Posts: 303
    edited June 2016
    I like the "old way" ½ lb burgers formed with a press, but if you want a "smash burger", take a look at: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/03/the-food-lab-maximize-flavor-by-ultra-smashin.html
  • Posts: 177
    I use a press, they 
    Atlanta GA. 
  • Posts: 177
    They still swell up. 
    Atlanta GA. 
  • Posts: 6,262

    Imo, a press is the opposite of what you want, unless you are trying for a mcdonalds style burger.  

    Patties should be loosely packed.  Press down in the middle with a spoon to minimize the puffy effect.


    Phoenix 
  • Posts: 6,645
    Nothing fattier than 80/20 helps too. I poke my thumb in my patties or go the smash burger route, which is my favorite 
    ~ John - Formerly known as ColtsFan  - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
    XL BGE, LG BGE, Med BGE, BGE Chiminea, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven
    Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

  • Posts: 177
    ColtsFan said:
    Nothing fattier than 80/20 helps too. I poke my thumb in my patties or go the smash burger route, which is my favorite 
    What's smash burger?
    Atlanta GA. 
  • Posts: 2,208

    Have you tried beer can burgers???




    Donnie Dawes - RNNL8 BBQ - Carrollton, KY  

    TWIN XLBGEs, 1-Beautiful wife, 1 XS Yorkie

    I'm keeping serious from now on...no more joking around from me...Meatheads !! 


  • Posts: 6,645
    NoobZero said:
    What's smash burger?
    Basically a cast iron skillet or griddle over high heat (I do 500). These are 1/4 lb (4 oz) burgers, I now use 3 oz as they smash better. Drop them on the skillet, sear for a minute then smash the hell out of it. Makes delicious, crusty burgers. Use the search bar in the forum, you'll see several posts. 

    ~ John - Formerly known as ColtsFan  - https://www.instagram.com/hoosier_egger
    XL BGE, LG BGE, Med BGE, BGE Chiminea, KJ Jr, PK Original, Ardore Pizza Oven
    Bloomington, IN - Hoo Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!

  • Posts: 14,831
    I am a recent smash burger convert. 1/3 lb beef smashed to 1/2" thickness as the restaurant does it. Stays dead flat, well caramelized and mighty tasty. Here's a how-to video by the smashburger franchise founder...
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEiyHCxqofg

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Posts: 231
    blasting said:

    Imo, a press is the opposite of what you want, unless you are trying for a mcdonalds style burger.  

    Patties should be loosely packed.  Press down in the middle with a spoon to minimize the puffy effect.


    Exactly this. When you over smush and press a full size/thickness burger patty, it definitely will self-squeeze it's juices out when you cook it.

    I usually get the butcher counter ground beef, typically 85/15 at the place I go. I even tell them to not compress the hell out of it when wrapping it up for me. I then use my food scale to weigh each lump of beef and very gently form a patty. It's not perfectly round, has jagged edges, and doesn't shrink much at all when cooking.

    I'm still drying to try smash burgers soon, which is a hot topic right now as you can see.



    Albuquerque, NM - LBGE and an old rusted gasser that I use for accessory storage.


  • Posts: 2,654
    I agree on the not over-pressing them.  Sometimes I actually take some time to break up the meat as it came from the store to that it's looser, more like it would have been straight out of the grinder, and then try to form patties fairly gently.

    And I tried smash burgers recently, found it more than a little awkward because the sides of the skillet made it hard to smash them with a spatula with a handle, but they were really good anyway.  Smashing them really does make a big difference in the crust.

    I still think my favorite burger is thicker, charcoal grilled so it's a little bit charred on the outside but still pink on the inside.
  • Posts: 14,831
    edited June 2016
    A smash burger is most definitely not a McD's burger. As I understand it, the key to smashing is to use a loosely formed, not overworked) ball and to smash it within the first 30 seconds of placing it on the griddle, before the fat starts to render. You lose no juices because there ARE no juices (yet). 

    The last one I did (80/20 beef), I forgot to butter the griddle. When I was done with both sides and took it off, the griddle was bone dry. Nothing lost at all! Watch the video and notice how much butter he uses. Then note what the flat top looks like throughout. There's no more oil on the griddle afterward than there was when he added the butter. Where'd all the "lost juices" go?

    EDIT: I don't know if my reasoning is 100% accurate, just that I have juicy burgers after smashing. If my "why" is wrong, my results are not.

    @Theophan, I use a griddle with no sides (just a small lip) and a plastering trowel as a smashing tool. It overhangs my 10" griddle. My largest CI skillet (12") is also too small for the trowel.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Posts: 6,262
    the key to smashing is to use a loosely formed, not overworked) ball and to smash it within the first 30 seconds of placing it on the griddle, before the fat starts to render. You lose no juices because there ARE no juices (yet). 
      This ^ is correct.  Forming patties with a burger press not the same as smashing a meatball onto a hot griddle. 
    Phoenix 
  • Posts: 18,459
    @Carolina Q I always use a dry griddle and scrape the good stuff off with the patty. 
  • Posts: 14,831
    @Carolina Q I always use a dry griddle and scrape the good stuff off with the patty. 
    @theyolksonyou, seems a bit better to me if I use a little butter or oil. Give it a try.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

  • Posts: 177
    As the OP, I wasn't looking for a way to not cook burgers on the Egg. But today I didn't feel like using the Egg, and the SmashBurger technique seemed pretty simple, and the way folks are talking about it, I decided to give it a shot. OMG! Those were the best burgers I've eve had! Consider me a convert!
    Atlanta GA. 
  • Posts: 14,831
    Yeah, ^^^ that! =)

    Smashburgers can certainly be done on the egg though. Whether or not it improves the flavor is open for debate I guess... but whether or not it saves battery life on the smoke detectors in your house is not! =)

    Glad you liked them. I know I do!!

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

Welcome!

It looks like you're new here. Sign in or register to get started.