I don't get smash burgers

[just4fn]

When I make burgers,  I form them and put then on the grill.  They usually taste great.  Now comes smash burgers?  Doesn't some of the grease get removed and now they would be drier and less taste?  What am I missing?

[SmallBBQr]

When you get smashburgers down right - a perfect, almost crispy, crust with just some simple American cheese and a good sauce, just some sort of magic happens.  It is the one food I get requested to cook over and over and over...

 

There is a reason entire burger chains exist around them...

[CentralTexBBQ]

@just4fn, I tend you agree with you– not a fan at all. Dry, overcooked burgers just isn't a thing for me. I have friends who think I am ruining my ribeyes by cooking them to medium and then, cook their burgers to well done. Defies logic, imo but to each their own. I a consistent 'medium' on both.

 

@SmallBBQr, my take it that there are a ton of chain stores built on bad ideas, among them, that BBQ means overcooking ribs and then slathering in sauce. More and more the smash burgers are cropping up here and I unfortunately tried two of three. Now I run the other direction when I hear the word smash... 

[adm]

I make my burgers about 6 ounces each and form them into thick patties about 4" diameter. Then I smoosh (but not smash!) them down onto the hot cast iron to give a nice crisp crust - but they stay thick enough that they are still medium rare and juicy inside.

 

About 4 minutes a side seems to do it just perfectly.

[DonBB]

Smash burgers are meant to increase surface area and be cooked on a flat top, not the grill grates.

 

The increased surface area and flat top provide for more crust.

[Brandon Store]

I like smash burgers and they are on the menu at my restaurant (my home lol). It seems like the past 10 years its really gotten more popular like its a hot new thing when in reality its just an old fashioned way of cooking a hamburger.
 

this book is worth getting. Covers burger history, has great recipes based on different regions in America. And has an excellent framework recipe on a basic Smash, Grilled Charcoal, and Pub Burgers. 
 

https://www.amazon.com/Great-American-Burger-Book-Hamburgers/dp/1617691828/ref=asc_df_1617691828_nodl/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312281022958&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10545113771026528617&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003905&hvtargid=pla-421340553336&psc=1

I do enjoy smash burgers but my all time favorite is charcoal grilled. 

[K'man]

From my point of view a smashed burger is just renamed.  When I grew up they were cooked on a flat top grill and we thought of them as fried.  Today they're just thicker cooked over higher heat.

[SmallBBQr]

14 hours ago, CentralTexBBQ said:

@just4fn, I tend you agree with you– not a fan at all. Dry, overcooked burgers just isn't a thing for me. I have friends who think I am ruining my ribeyes by cooking them to medium and then, cook their burgers to well done. Defies logic, imo but to each their own. I a consistent 'medium' on both.

 

@SmallBBQr, my take it that there are a ton of chain stores built on bad ideas, among them, that BBQ means overcooking ribs and then slathering in sauce. More and more the smash burgers are cropping up here and I unfortunately tried two of three. Now I run the other direction when I hear the word smash... 

 

If your smashburgers are dry, you are cooking them wrong of using the wrong beef.  Done correctly, they are juicy/medium rare, and dripping glorious amounts of fat!

[BURGER MEISTER]

But if they're cooked on a cast-iron or soapstone or frying pan, none of the fat drips on the charcoal and you don't get the flavor from the juices dripping on charcoal.  Same with cooking a steak on cast-iron, you get more even caramelization but still don't get the flavor from fat dripping on charcoal.  But you know what they say about opinions.  

[CentralTexBBQ]

17 hours ago, adm said:

I make my burgers about 6 ounces each and form them into thick patties about 4" diameter. Then I smoosh (but not smash!) them down onto the hot cast iron to give a nice crisp crust - but they stay thick enough that they are still medium rare and juicy inside.

 

About 4 minutes a side seems to do it just perfectly.

 

sounds like a happy medium but, I was always taught not to smash or smoosh a burger. 

 

7 hours ago, K'man said:

From my point of view a smashed burger is just renamed.  When I grew up they were cooked on a flat top grill and we thought of them as fried.  Today they're just thicker cooked over higher heat.

 

agreed. Every neighrhood and mom & pop shop cooked them that way. Heck my mom cooked them that way, slapped on some mayo between two pieces of white bread, stuck them in our lunch boxes, where they sat unfrigerated until noon. And, that's what we called a burger. Fried eggs the same way. And steaks, on the unltra rare occasions that we actually had them. Then, I grew up and just prefer... other

 

7 hours ago, SmallBBQr said:

 

If your smashburgers are dry, you are cooking them wrong of using the wrong beef.  Done correctly, they are juicy/medium rare, and dripping glorious amounts of fat!

 

Never have and never will attempt to cook a smash burger. The presence of fat does not make up for the overdone meat, I've experienced everytime I've had them. Again, not begrudging anybody their smash burgers. But, like burnt ends, cooking flats only or overly saucy ribs they are just not for me

[adm]

19 hours ago, CentralTexBBQ said:

 

sounds like a happy medium but, I was always taught not to smash or smoosh a burger. 

 

I think it depends on the cooking surface. On a grill rack over an open flame, never smash/smoosh/smish. On (screaming hot) cast iron, that smoosh defintitely gives you that nice tasty crust and more Maillard reaction goodness.

[Ginger Ale]

On 5/23/2021 at 11:16 PM, just4fn said:

When I make burgers,  I form them and put then on the grill.  They usually taste great.  Now comes smash burgers?  Doesn't some of the grease get removed and now they would be drier and less taste?  What am I missing?

 

Funny, but we used to cook burgers your way...now I've been doing well-seasoned smashburgers on the grill and they do get a good crust.  We also tried it with a meat loaf mix.  Of course, cheese is mandatory.  

[T-Bone]

On 5/23/2021 at 11:16 PM, just4fn said:

When I make burgers,  I form them and put then on the grill.  They usually taste great.  Now comes smash burgers?  Doesn't some of the grease get removed and now they would be drier and less taste?  What am I missing?

 

I made these tonight.  As others have stated elsewhere on this site, 80/20 ground beef.  I use a 14 1/4 inch cast iron Pizza stone by Lodge... Preheated on my Genesis 2 gasser, but I've done them on my kamado too.  I go anywhere from 450 to 525°.

 

There are several key points...

1.  Buy ground beef that's ground and loosely packed at the supermarket.  In other words, avoid those big tubes of beef that are over processed and finally packed into those tubes.

 

2.  Use a spatula to cut ground beef into portions, while it's still sitting in the container from the supermarket, so each portion is 4 oz

 

3.  One by one, take a portion out and very gently round the corners so it looks somewhat like a meatball.  The key is you don't want to work the meat at all. You want to mildly shape it.

 

When you do the above, there are air pockets in the beef.  When it's cooked on a very hot surface, really cast iron or carbon steel is recommended, the fat melts inside of these pockets and doesn't go anywhere. It's inside the pattie.

 

So you have the maillard reaction couple to the pockets of fat.

 

That's why when you make a smashburger you only smash at the very first time onto the griddle.  Never smash after the flip otherwise you squeeze the fat out.

 

I use a pinch of salt.  A pinch of pepper.  Extra sharp cheddar, toasted bun, and whatever toppings i happen to be in the mood for.