Time
20 min
Serving
4 persons
Calories
632
This smash burger recipe makes super juicy burgers with crispy edges. I prefer to cook these outdoors — they grill up very fast because of the high heat, so make sure you have everything ready to go!
Ingredients
- hamburger buns: 4 piece
- butter: 2 Tbsp (softened, or as needed)
- ground chuck beef (80% lean): 1 pound
- (6-inch) squares parchment paper: 4 piece
- salt: (to taste)
- slices American cheese: 4 piece
- burger toppings of choice:
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil the grate. Set a cast iron flat-top griddle or large cast iron skillet onto the grill and preheat until smoking.
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Spread butter on the inside of the buns and toast on the flat-top until lightly browned. Set aside.
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Form meat into 8 loosely-packed balls, 2 ounces each. Do not pack the meat tightly, as this will prevent it from smashing properly. Place each ball on the hot flat-top, cover with a piece of parchment (to prevent sticking to the spatula; re-use each parchment square on a second patty) and immediately smash down to a 1/4 inch thickness using 2 stiff, sturdy spatulas that are criss-crossed to get proper leverage as you press down. You may also use the bottom of small skillet. Sprinkle the meat with salt.
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Grill for about 45 seconds, until the edges are dark brown and the centers are a light pink color. Using a bench scraper or firm spatula, gently scrape up the patties, flip over and immediately cover 4 of them with cheese. Grill an additional 15 to 20 seconds; stack the plain patties over the cheese-covered patties so you have 4 stacks. Move each stack to a bun and serve with your favorite toppings.