Smash burgers are the takeaway style burger that is quicker made at home than ordered. Loose balls of beef go onto a smoking hot pan and are pressed flat, so the whole patty browns into a dark, crisp crust with lacy edges in 2 minutes. A thin slice of onion is pressed in as they cook, cheese melts on top after the flip, and two patties go into each brioche bun with bacon and burger sauce. The whole thing takes 20 minutes.
Why this works
Pressing a ball of beef flat onto a smoking hot pan puts every bit of it in contact with the metal, so it browns into a deep crust that a thick burger can't get. The patties are thin enough to cook through in about 3 minutes.
Beef with around 20 percent fat keeps thin patties juicy and turns crisp at the edges. Smashing once, in the first few seconds, sets the shape; pressing again later would squeeze out the juices.
Key ingredients
- Minced beef. About 20 percent fat. Leaner beef dries out when it is this thin.
- Cheese. American style burger slices melt the smoothest. Thinly sliced mild cheddar works too.
- Brioche buns. Soft and slightly sweet. Toast the cut sides in the pan so the sauce and juices don't soak them.
- Bacon. Smoked streaky bacon, as in the photo. It is optional, but the fat it leaves in the pan helps the buns and burgers brown.
Amounts for 2 to 12 people are in the recipe card below, in grams or cups.
Method
- 01
Make the burger sauce
Stir the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and chopped gherkins together, then spoon the sauce into a squeeze bottle.
Squeeze Bottles, Set of 5 - 02
Slice the onion
Halve and peel the onion. Push the holder into one half and slice it as thinly as you can down through the gaps.
Onion Holder for Slicing - 03
Shape the beef
Divide the beef into loose balls, two for each burger, without packing them tight. Cut a square of baking paper for each ball. Keep the beef in the fridge until the pan is hot.
- 04
Cook the bacon and toast the buns
Cook the bacon in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium high heat for 4 to 5 minutes until crisp, then lift it onto kitchen paper. Toast the buns cut side down in the fat for a minute.
- 05
Smash
Turn the heat to high. Put 3 or 4 balls in the pan, well apart, and pile a few onion slices on each. Cover each with a square of paper and press down hard with a sturdy spatula until about 5 mm thin, then peel off the paper and season. Leave for 2 minutes, until the edges are dark brown and crisp.
- 06
Flip and add cheese
Scrape under each patty with the spatula, keeping the crust, and flip. Lay on a slice of cheese and cook for 1 minute more, until the cheese melts, there is no pink in the middle and the juices run clear. Repeat with the rest of the beef.
- 07
Build the burgers
Squeeze sauce over the bun bases, add the lettuce, stack two patties on each, then the bacon and more sauce, and finish with the bun lids.
What to serve it with
With chips or crisps and a crunchy slaw. For another fakeaway night, try the loaded beef nachos.
Storing and reheating
- Fridge
- Cool any spare patties quickly, cover and eat within 2 days.
- Freezer
- Freeze uncooked balls between sheets of baking paper for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before cooking.
- Reheat
- In a hot frying pan for 1 to 2 minutes a side, until piping hot all the way through.
Questions
The patties are thin enough to cook through in about 3 minutes. Flip once the edges are dark and crisp and the top has turned from pink to brown, then give them another minute. There should be no pink in the middle and the juices should run clear.
A heavy cast iron or stainless steel frying pan that holds its heat. Non stick pans aren't made for heat this high.
Lay a square of baking paper over each ball before you press it, then peel the paper off once the patty is flat.
Minced beef with about 20 percent fat. Leaner beef turns dry and crumbly at this thickness, and the fat is what gives the lacy edges.
Recipe
Smash burgers in 20 minutes
Beef pressed thin onto a smoking hot pan for crisp, lacy edges, double stacked with melted cheese, bacon and burger sauce. By Tom Reid.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Burgers
Burger sauce
Method
- 01Stir the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and chopped gherkins together, then spoon the sauce into a squeeze bottle.
- 02Halve and peel the onion. Push the holder into one half and slice it as thinly as you can down through the gaps.
- 03Divide the beef into loose balls, two for each burger, without packing them tight. Cut a square of baking paper for each ball. Keep the beef in the fridge until the pan is hot.
- 04Cook the bacon in a large, heavy frying pan over a medium high heat for 4 to 5 minutes until crisp, then lift it onto kitchen paper. Toast the buns cut side down in the fat for a minute.
- 05Turn the heat to high. Put 3 or 4 balls in the pan, well apart, and pile a few onion slices on each. Cover each with a square of paper and press down hard with a sturdy spatula until about 5 mm thin, then peel off the paper and season. Leave for 2 minutes, until the edges are dark brown and crisp.
- 06Scrape under each patty with the spatula, keeping the crust, and flip. Lay on a slice of cheese and cook for 1 minute more, until the cheese melts, there is no pink in the middle and the juices run clear. Repeat with the rest of the beef.
- 07Squeeze sauce over the bun bases, add the lettuce, stack two patties on each, then the bacon and more sauce, and finish with the bun lids.
