I haven’t yet figured out why but mashing it beforehand just doesn’t work as well. Try it before you knock it. My mom, dad, and brother all laughed at the the technique before eating one. Now they won’t make their burgers any other way.
I used to work on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that has Junk Food Mondays. Pizza, nachos, wings, cheese burgers etc. Good times*
- my cardiologist disagrees
In what way doesn’t it work? My guess would be that by mashing it beforehand, the meat contracts while cooking and plumps into a thicker burger than desired. If you fry one side, flip it and then mash it, the caramelized side will tend to make the burger hold its flattened shape.
And I don’t believe I’ve knocked anything, just given what I think is sound advice. I’m a burger junky and will try anything.
Yeah, if you start with a flat patty it does plump up too much. If you smash one of those you’d be right that it will dry the patty out. But with the method Cisco and I are using, the meat is still raw when it’s smashed, except for the one small spot that holds everything together. The fat hasn’t had a chance to melt so the amount you lose is trivial. They come out really well.
Why would you want a flat burger?
The most flavorful part of a burger patty is the browned outside crust. If you make your burgers thin and then stack them you get more of that per hamburger. You do have to be careful because it’s easy to overcook them but if you make them right they’re great.
Agreed. I was assuming he was doing them Medium to Medium Well, nothing more. I’ve also found that grass-fed is more moist.
Oh, it’d be a sin not to mention inside out cheeseburgers. If you’re victim to the drippy cheese, put the cheese inside the burger.
Oh, also, fresh buns are always preferable, but not everyone has a decent bakery. Get the large hamburger buns or sandwich buns at the store - not the crappy little ones. They always fall apart 3/4 of the way through the goodness.
Anyone have an onion preference? I can’t find candy onions (my favorite) until further along in the summer, so what’s good without being too sharp?
Yeah that’s a good point. It’s just, usually when restaurants market “gourmet” burgers, they’re 2" patties.
It depends. Both types have their place. In a flat thin burger, the meat is almost always at least medium-well or close to it because of the thinness of the patty. However, you get this very nice caramelization on the outside which is delicious.
If you’re somebody who likes medium rare burgers, though, you do need to go to the larger, more “pub-style” burgers that are at least 1/3 pound, preferably 1/2 pound. There you get a nice mix of outside searing and juicy, medium-rare meat on the inside.
While I do tend to prefer the thin, flat burgers, I sometimes want the juicy red-meat flavor of a good rare-to-medium-rare burger. It’s hard to say one way is more flavorful than the other–they’re just different flavors and textures.
The key word there is “market.”
Wrong, actually. The recipe I posted above yields a rare burger, with a delicious carmelized crust. Add 45 seconds to the last flip for medium-rare, a minute for medium.
Interesting. The way I do them, they’re too thin to get medium rare. I’ll have to try your way.
If you smash them down from a ball, in the pan, they get thin but not like Krystal/White Castle thin. At least not with my spatula.
ketchup, brown mustard, a slice of raw onion, some dill pickle chips, and a slice of American cheese
I agree with the smushing and heavy searing technique. Working at McD’s the whole secret to their burgers was a high temp flatttop grill and the initial sear of the frozen patty.
My favorite burgers are the Steakburgers at Steak and Shake- they make a truly great burger and must use a really great sirloin burger mix, I presume- it seems like the perfect burger. Anybody ever spent any time watching them them make the burgers at Steak and Shake? They take a little pellet-ball of their frozen steakburger and sear it to the grill, then as it defrosts, they smush it out with much prejudice and sear it to the grill with a spackler and a spatula to a 1/4 inch patty. Makes for a great burger…
Ahh… here’s a guy who learned the smash technique from steak n shake, too. With pictures.
I sometimes also wonder if the little thing missing from a proper homefry burger is the freezing step? I think we are conditioned to believe that fresh ground room temp burger is the best, but what if you simply froze the fresh ground burger before using it? I’m guessing it would make a different burger,and perhaps even a better burger in some subtle ways regarding texture and flavor. Anyone care to experiment and report back?
I have my own way to make a steak n shake style smash burger… I travel the 0.6 miles to the nearest steak n shake and give them $4.35 in return for a double steakburger with cheese and fries. Perfect every time.