Flat burgers

Put a dimple/indent in the patty before grilling.  Not large, thumb size or spoon.

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

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.

NoobZero said:

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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?

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. 

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.

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.

@Carolina Q I always use a dry griddle and scrape the good stuff off with the patty.