For whatever reason, I've got my sights set on smash burgers this week, which I have never done. (Actually, I've never cooked a burger in my life. Hey, Whataburger is just around the corner, so I do have a good reason for that lol.)
So I've been watching video after video on these things. The basic technique seems simple enough. I've got a 10" cast iron skillet (I also have a cast iron griddle that I think will fit on the Weber Kettle, too; I may use that.) 4 oz balls of 80/20 ground beef, placed over avocado oil or ghee, smashed on a flat top, seasoned with salt and pepper, flip using a quality spatula, and lay on American cheese. When cheese melts and gets a bit crispy on the edges, they are done. Butter some buns and then build the burger. And it seems that two patties are required per burger to do this right.
It also seems that onions grilled on the flat top are also popular with these things. I've also noticed a burger sauce that is usually some mixture of mayo, ketchup or BBQ sauce, mustard, and dill pickles is often used too.
My first question is generally how hot do you want the cooking surface? All the videos do a range of medium to medium high, which, of course, differs wildly between flat tops. I have an IR gun, so I can measure that. 450? 500? 600?
I'm still thinking about the sauce. I am not a big fan of ketchup (or BBQ sauce) on burgers. I may use just Japanese mayo with some dill pickle slices.
So I've been watching video after video on these things. The basic technique seems simple enough. I've got a 10" cast iron skillet (I also have a cast iron griddle that I think will fit on the Weber Kettle, too; I may use that.) 4 oz balls of 80/20 ground beef, placed over avocado oil or ghee, smashed on a flat top, seasoned with salt and pepper, flip using a quality spatula, and lay on American cheese. When cheese melts and gets a bit crispy on the edges, they are done. Butter some buns and then build the burger. And it seems that two patties are required per burger to do this right.

It also seems that onions grilled on the flat top are also popular with these things. I've also noticed a burger sauce that is usually some mixture of mayo, ketchup or BBQ sauce, mustard, and dill pickles is often used too.
My first question is generally how hot do you want the cooking surface? All the videos do a range of medium to medium high, which, of course, differs wildly between flat tops. I have an IR gun, so I can measure that. 450? 500? 600?
I'm still thinking about the sauce. I am not a big fan of ketchup (or BBQ sauce) on burgers. I may use just Japanese mayo with some dill pickle slices.
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