Who doesn’t love a good burger? They can be extremely easy or incredibly complex. It’s a choose-your-own-experience type of thing. This recipe outlines how to make delicious smash burgers, complete with a homemade special sauce and tips for perfect patty smashing and cheese melting.
The Sauce: Combine in a bowl 1/2 cup mayo, 2 tbs ketchup, 2 tsp yellow mustard, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, around one whole diced pickle, 2 tsp of your favorite hot sauce, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, a dash of cayenne, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp rice wine vinegar. Mix well.
The Beef: Use 80/20 pre-ground beef. Weigh out 80 grams of meat per patty and shape them into balls. Heat a cast iron or stainless steel pan to medium-high heat with a little high smoke point oil. AVOID nonstick if possible to allow patties to stick. Add the burger balls to your pan, spaced as far apart as possible. Use a large flat object to immediately smash the patties as thin as possible. Season the top side with salt and pepper. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute until a crust develops, then scrape the patties up with a rigid spatula and flip. Directly after flipping, cover each patty with your cheese of choice (American cheese is preferred for its melt and classic taste). Once the cheese is down, add a splash of water to the pan and cover for 15-20 seconds to surround the patties with steam and melt the cheese. This whole process happens very quickly, so have condiments and buns ready.
Assembly: Toast your bun with a little butter. First, spread some sauce on the bottom bun. Layer two patties on top of the sauce. Next, add some sautéed onions if desired, and then more sauce. Add any other preferred toppings. Lastly, add your top bun and enjoy!
