SMASHED BURGERS
NOT YOUR EVERYDAY BURGER… IT’S SMASHED.
4 burgers, 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, preferably 80% lean/20% fat
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise, preferably Hellmans
4 Brioche or Potato Buns
4 slices of cheese, preferably American cheese
Salt
Pepper
Optional:
Burger ‘fancy’ seasoning:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Toppings:
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
1 roma tomatoes (sliced)
In-N-Out sauce:
1/4 cup mayo
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp relish and or chopped bread and butter pickles
1 tsp white vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Optional optional: small squeeze of sriracha
The Blistered Peppers Take:
As you’ll see I love the ease of a grill. Turn it on. Heat is up and you can throw anything on and cook something up fast. Cooking burgers on the grill gives an amazing flavor, but this time I wanted to change it up.
You all know I’m a California girl who lives in New York, so In-N-Out (and therefore burgers alone) are in my DNA. If you’ve not had an In-N-Out burger, as the saying goes, you’re missing out. It’s an experience. Their burgers are like no other, they’re just plain old good and somehow they don’t feel like ‘fast food.’ I’m not sure if it is or isn’t a fact, but it is true. HAHA! Anyways, if I can’t get In-N-Out on the regular, you know I had to experiment with creating a replica or at bare minimum, have a Animal-style-esq sauce recipe in my back pocket.
Ok so let’s talk about the difference between a normal burger and a smashed burger. Generally a burger is made from a beef patty that's formed prior to cooking it. You throw on some spices and you flip it once - tada perfect burger made. But a smashed burger is on another level. Mostly because of how you cook it. It’s best made in a very hot cast iron skillet. Maybe the burger is better this way because of the way the skillet generates heat. Maybe it’s because you’re taking a ball of meat and quite literally smashing it which causes the meat to hit the heat in a different way, wakes up the flavor, and overall is just mouth watering. Who knows for sure. But what I do know is that it’s different, it’s a crowd pleaser, it’s easy, and obviously delicious.
To be honest, another reason that I love this recipe for the summer is - you all know I love to host. Sometimes when it’s SUPER hot, you don’t want to be a slave to a grill with a fire blowing right in your face (or at least I don’t). The phrase “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen” has never been more accurate. I won’t fool you into thinking smashed burgers are any less heat inducing than a grill, but at least you’re in doors, preferably with some AC. This also allows you to be with your guests and in a way they’re watching you put on a show in that skillet. My favorite part about hosting is being able to converse with your guests while you’re cooking (also why I love an open kitchen) so you’re not shut out for the better part of the day. This recipe gives me the ability to do that and cook!
Steps:
Prep: slice onions and tomatoes (if using) about 1/4 inch thick, shred iceberg lettuce. Form patties and set aside on a lined baking sheet. Prepare burger seasoning - mix salt and pepper, option to add paprika, garlic powder, onion powder.
Caramelized onions. This can take up to 50 minutes if done right. You want to saute the onions on an incredibly low heat, with a bit of olive oil and salt - option to add some sugar here if you really want to sweeten them up - and ensure you stir them every so often so they don’t burn.
Meanwhile make the copycat In-N-Out sauce. In a small bowl whisk together the mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish/chopped pickles, salt, pepper, white wine vinegar, and sriracha. Refrigerate until ready for assembly.
Spread plain mayo along the inside of the buns, and a little bit on the outside too as it’ll help brown the bun a bit (alternatively you can use butter). In a medium sized pan over medium heat, toast the buns on both the interior and exterior.
Meanwhile, cook the smashed burgers: using an incredibly hot cast iron skillet, add a single patty at a time, immediately sprinkle with seasoning, cover with parchment paper and “smash” with a spatula - you’ll want to press down so hard that the meat even starts to separate. You can sprinkle with additional seasoning before flipping. Once flipped, immediately top with a slice of cheese. The burgers will only need to cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side.
Assemble! Cover the interior of the bun - on both sides - with In-N-Out sauce, add the burger, top with iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickles, and carmelized onions.
