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Smash Burger

Source of Recipe

From "To the Last Bite" by Alexis Deboschnek


Recipe Introduction

"I've always loved burgers. When I was growing up, whenever we'd visit my dad's family in Ohio, we'd stop at Skyway, a drive-in restaurant where the waiters zip up to the cars on roller skates. It's still one of my favorite places to eat. We always ordered the burger—a thin patty, smashed so the edges got crispy, topped with mustard, pickles, and onions with a tall grape soda on the side. Since then, I've cooked and eaten a lot of burgers, but the Skyway version remains my idea of what a good burger should be. I've taken inspiration from it, but I've added a layer of cheddar cheese, a smear of Thousand Island dressing, and a handful of pickles. When I say smash, I mean it: wrap a heavy object, like a brick or a cast iron pan, in foil and use it in place of a spatula to flatten that ground beef. The thinner the burger, the crispier the edges will get. Spatulas never get the burgers quite thin enough, in my opinion."

List of Ingredients

Thousand Island dressing:
â—¦ ¾ cup mayonnaise
â—¦ ¼ cup ketchup
â—¦ 2 tablespoons finely chopped pickles
â—¦ 1 clove garlic, minced
â—¦ 2 teaspoons champagne vinegar

Burgers:
â—¦ 12 ounces 80% lean ground beef
â—¦ 1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt
â—¦ 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
â—¦ 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
â—¦ 4 slices cheddar cheese
â—¦ 4 Hawaiian sweet hamburger buns
â—¦ Pickles to serve


Recipe

Make the Thousand Island dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, ketchup, pickles, garlic, and vinegar. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. The Thousand Island dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance.

Make the burgers: Cover a heavy medium pan, brick, or cast iron pan with foil so the bottom is completely covered. On a cutting board, divide the ground beef into four 3-ounce portions and roll into balls. Generously season the top of each ball with salt and pepper.

Heat the grapeseed oil in a cast iron or stainless steel pan over high heat until nearly smoking. Place two of the beef balls, seasoned-side down, in the pan and press down with your foil-covered object, forming a thin patty. Season with more salt and pepper. Cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Use a spatula to flip the burger. Place a slice of cheddar on each burger and cook until the burgers are cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 1 minute more. Repeat with the remaining two beef balls. Place the burgers on the hamburger buns and top with Thousand Island dressing and pickles. Serve immediately. We rarely have leftover burgers in my house, but they'll stay good in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Serves 2 to 4