Smash Burgers with Mustard Smash Sauce
Description
A foolproof smash burger recipe! Quick, easy and loaded with flavor—this is the only burger recipe you'll need.
Video
Save This Recipe!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup whole-grain mustard
- ¼ cup prepared yellow mustard
- ¼ cup olive oil mayonnaise
- 1 pound (80/20) ground beef
- Morton kosher salt
- 4 brioche buns, split
- 1 medium yellow onion, very thinly sliced
- ½ head iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
- 3 large kosher dill pickles, thinly sliced + more for serving
- 4 slices American cheese, such as Kraft Singles
Instructions
- For burger sauce, mix together mustards and mayonnaise; set aside.
- Divide meat into quarters (about 4 ounces each) and roll into balls. Transfer to a plate or small baking sheet.
- Heat a large (12-inch) cast-iron, stainless steel, or carbon steel skillet over medium-high heat until ripping hot and smoking, about 5 minutes.
- Toast half of the buns, cut side down, in skillet until lightly golden, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining buns.
- Increase heat to high.
- Add two beef balls to skillet; season generously with kosher salt. Smash beef balls down with a heavy duty spatula, using a potato masher to press down on top of the spatula for extra leverage, until very thin, about ½-inch thick. Cook, without moving, until bottom sides are crisp and browned, about 1 ½ minutes.
- Press a few onion slices into burger patties with spatula. Scrape up and flip patty.
- Place a slice of cheese over burger and continue to cook until cheese is melted and onions on bottom are griddled and golden, 30–60 seconds. Remove from griddle.
- To assemble, spread 1 tablespoon burger sauce on cuts sides of buns (tops and bottoms). Cover bottom buns with pickle slices then top with burger patty. Add a few slices of raw onion, a couple of folded sheets of iceberg lettuce followed by the top bun.
- Wipe out skillet with paper towels before repeating smashing and cooking process with remaining beef balls, onions and cheese.
- Serve burgers with pickle spears.
Notes
A heavy duty spatula or burger smasher is ideal for making smash burgers.
It's important to use fatty ground beef (80/20 is ideal). One, it makes for juicy, flavorful burgers. And two, the fat of the meat acts as a lubricant to keep it from sticking to the spatula or burger smasher.
If you experience issues with the meat sticking to the burger smasher, instead of pulling the smasher or spatula straight up off the meat, gently slide the smasher off the meat after smashing.
If you have a flat top griddle or attachment for your grill, this would be a great time to use it. I developed the recipe using a cast-iron skillet because I find most people have access to one.
It can get pretty smoky when making smash burgers in the kitchen. I recommend firing up your kitchen vent or opening some windows before getting started.
The technique I used to develop this recipe is based on the technique Alison Roman uses for her smash burgers.
Nutrition
Serving: 1burgerCalories: 565kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 40gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 119mgSodium: 1625mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7g
Like this? Leave a comment below!I love hearing from you and I want to hear how it went with this recipe! Leave a comment and rating below, then share on social media @zestfulkitchen and #zestfulkitchen!