Smashed Burgers

 10 September 2020

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, July 2020

I guess it was a few years ago when smashed burgers seemed to be all the rage. You could order them at restaurants and new fast food restaurants specializing in smashed burgers started to appear. I get why these could be appealing, by smashing the hamburger patty you maximize the amount of crust that develops with all of the flavor that entails. But could these be made at home? Could it be adapted to the slider-sized burgers that we eat? Would I want to make them at home rather than using my current cooking technique? This recent recipe (more a cooking technique than a list of ingredients)  provided a chance to find out.

To make two burgers, the recipe specified 8 ounces of 80% ground beef from the supermarket. We prefer smaller burgers and smaller buns, so I used what I had on hand: 6 ounces of chuck that I had ground myself. The beef was divided into four equally-sized balls. A cast iron skillet was heated for 5 minutes over medium-low heat and lightly oiled. The burner was then turned to high. When the oil began to smoke, two balls were placed in the skillet then smashed using a small sauce pan whose bottom had been wrapped in aluminum foil. The patties, which were 3½-4-inches in diameter, were seasoned and cooked until most of the pink was gone. A metal spatula was used to scrape the patty from the skillet and flip it over where it cooked for less than a minute. This was repeated with the other two balls. Each pair of patties were put onto buns with a slice of swiss cheese between them and served. 

Despite anticipating smoke this preparation did succeed in setting off smoke alarms, both downstairs and upstairs. We found the burgers to be overcooked and over salted; it was difficult to judge when to flip the patties and the cast iron skillet did not provide even heat so the patties were unevenly cooked. The patties did fit the slider buns. I'm glad I tried this technique, and even though the issues I had are easily solved, I suspect this was a one-time thing.  I will return to using my usual cooking technique that creates juicy burgers with a nice crust, thank you very much.