Smashburgers – A cook named Rebecca

I’ve been eating smashburgers my entire life. This double meat, double cheese smashburger is nothing new to me. I don’t eat a double/double but for blog purposes, I forced myself! LOL!!

Before smashburgers world renowned like they are today, I grew up spending every summer at my “granny’s” cafe. She had a plate of ground beef balls on a plate in her restaurant refridgerator at all times. Fresh meat that had never been frozen that she had purchased from the local meat market next door, English’s.

She would place a ball of beef on the hot griddle and allow it to sit there for a few minutes so it’d begin to carmalize. Then she would turn it over, smash it on the hot griddle with a wide spatula, salt and pepper them. At that point she’d allow them to cook for a few minutes, then flip and add the cheese! Amazing! The very best burgers ever.

I added onions to the griddle that I will combine into the beef pattie.

my favorite – love a double meat, double cheese smashburger.

I have a griddle that is built into my stove top. If you don’t these Lodge gridles are great. Here’s the link for those: https://amzn.to/3ASljKf.

Want another burger recipe? Try this Hatch Green Chile Cheeseburger! Amazing! we love a new mexico green chile cheeseburger.

my favorite – love a double meat, double cheese smashburger.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 Burgers

Ingredients

2 lbs 80/20 ground beef (if you're making double-double)
salt and pepper
8 slices American Cheese
4 hamburger buns of your choice
Lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced pickles, sliced onions
Mustard, Mayonnaise, Ketchup

Instructions

Divide each pound of ground beef into 4ths. Roll into 8 balls of beef.
Heat your griddle to 375 to 400 degrees. You want it hot when the beef hits the grill. When the grill is hotplace the 8 ground beef balls on the hot griddle and allow them to sit there for a few minutes. The beef will start to carmalize, that's what you want.
In still a ball formation, flip it over, then with a solid spatula, or another type of press, smash the ground beef ball down to a pretty thin patty. Try to make them uniform as much as possible. Salt and pepper the patties after you smashed them.
Allow them to cook on the first side for about 5 minutes or so, then flip them over to cook on the other side. Immediately add the cheese. By the time the cheese has melted, the burgers will be done. If you're making double-double, stack a patty onto another patty. Prepare your buns.
I butter my buns and heat them on the grill turning to toast both sides. Add your favorite spread to the buns. Add a lettuce leaf to the bottom, then the onions, pickles and tomatoes, topping with your double meat and double cheese patties. Place the top on and get ready for the juices to run down your arm!!! Enjoy!

Keyword burgers, cheese, cheeseburgers, double double, ground beef, smashburgers

You probably wonder why I’m posting a recipe for Smashburgers, but the truth is there is a technique to making the perfect one!

I mean you can’t just cook a piece of ground meat, you have to do it the right way and you have to have the right fat to lean ratio. Most common is 80/20 but there is 75/25 which has even more fat. You have to have the fat. If you insist on any leaner like 90/10, it will not be a good burger! A good burger has juice that drips down your arms!! A burger that takes a dozen napkins!! Yes!! Here’s a link about the fat to lean ratios: https://schweidandsons.com/blog/lean-vs-fat-perfect-burger-ratio/

Heavenly Homemade Smashburgers

I’ve mentioned before that my Granny had a cafe in Central Texas! She made the best burgers ever and yes, they were Smashburgers! This is not a new concept, that’s how diners, cafes, Mom and Pop operations made them, on a hot griddle with fresh meat! My youngest sister and I spent most summers with her and days that we didn’t want to hang out at the cafe, she’d pack us up with cheeseburgers and fries. Remember when hamburger buns came in a cardboard carton? Well she’d stuff the carton with our burger and load the rest with hand cut French fries! No frozen fries there! They’d cut them daily with a French Fry cutter.

Heavenly Homemade Smashburgers

So the first thing is the size. You want a thin patty. You don’t want less than 4 patties to a pound of beef. Granny would make balls of meat every morning and store them in the refrigerator on a platter until she made the next burger! No frozen patties, only fresh ground!

You want a hot griddle. I set my griddle at about 375 degrees. I’m such a fanatic about my burgers that when we build our house I had a 48 inch range installed with 4 burners, a grill and a griddle. Boy, do I use that griddle. How can you have a griddle like a restaurant in your home and not make smashburgers at least a week?

Starting with a hot griddle throw a couple of the beef balls on, let them sit a few minutes to brown and get that crust started before you turn and smash. Then turn like the picture below, and smash with a spatula!

If you don’t have a griddle built in an iron skillet works well and there are great griddle/grill pans you can purchase fir not a lot of money. I have one that is cast iron, it covers two burners and has a flat griddle on one side and a grill on the other when you want some grill marks.

Cook them on the side you turned to for a few minutes, salt and pepper, turn and immediately add the cheese to the other side if you want a cheeseburger. Top with a lid and cook only until the cheese is melted! You don’t want to overcook. So, have your buns and condiments ready because this takes minutes!

Yum!! So delicious! Serve with chips, French Fries or Onion Rings or even a good potato salad which I do a lot. Here’s my potato salad if you need a recipe!! https://the2spoons.com/super-good-southern-potato-salad/.

We like to switch it up and sometimes we’ll have yellow mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup or special sauce like I did this time! These have lettuce, tomatoes from my garden (literally makes the burger) pickles and shredded lettuce, and of course American Cheese! Sometimes I’ll have just a party with cheese, pickles and mustard and ketchup!

So go make a smashburger this weekend!

Print Recipe

Course dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Sandwiches

Cuisine American

Ingredients

1 lb 80/20 or 75/25 ground beef, formed into 4 balls salt and pepper
4 hamburger buns of your choice
4-8 slices American Cheese or cheese of your choice
dill pickles
shredded lettuce
1-2 Ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
mustard, mayonnaise or special sauce

Special Sauce

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup dill relish or chopped dill pickles
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Heat your griddle to 375 degrees. Place the balls of ground beef on the griddle and allow to sear and start a crust to form before turning and smashing. Flip over, smack with a wide spatula and salt and pepper. Place your buns on the griddle with a little oil or butter to brown. Remove the buns when a little brown and start by spreading your spread..like the special sauce, mayonnaise or mustard. Top with your condiments.
When your. patty has browned on that side, flip and immediately add the cheese, cover with a lid if you can and only cook until the cheeee has melted .
Top each bun with the condiments with the beef and cheese patty!
Pass the napkins!!

Special Sauce

Stir together the mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, garlic powder, and pepper in a bowl, and place a dollop on your hamburger!

Keyword cheeseburgers, hamburgers, sandwiches, smashburgers