by Elisabeth Duckeck

The other day, while watching one of my favourite TV series, I saw the protagonists eating burgers, and it made me crave cheeseburgers with fries for lunch the next day.

Why Make Smash Burgers at Home Instead of Ordering In

At first, however, I wasn’t sure whether we should simply order some or make them ourselves. In the end, I decided to go for homemade burgers. And for two simple reasons: firstly, by the time ordered burgers are delivered, they are not only almost cold, but the burger buns are also completely soggy. Secondly, if you have to or want to keep an eye on your diet but don’t want to give up such soul food, or if you want to know exactly which ingredients are being used, it’s better to get cooking yourself.

So I started looking online. Of course, I know how to make meatballs from ground beef. But I wanted to achieve that authentic flavour you get in a burger restaurant.

How to Make Smash Burgers Without a Griddle

All the recipes I found were made on a so-called griddle. For one thing, I don’t own one, and for another, I didn’t want to ask my husband to fire up our large charcoal barbecue in the garden just to make two burgers.

Luckily, I am the proud owner of a very large aluminium frying pan, which works just as well as a griddle for this purpose.

Since our family pays close attention to the calorie content of our meals, I used light products for all the ingredients in this recipe. Starting with the lean ground beef and going all the way to the mayonnaise and ketchup. Despite that, the result was absolutely delicious.

Of course, you can use regular products if you prefer.

If you want to serve your smash cheeseburger the classic way, you can make my spicy Air Fryer French fries to go with it.

Tips for the success of your Smash Burger:

The secret to these smash burgers is to press the meat very thinly onto a really hot pan. The pan needs to be very hot before you add the meat. This ensures that the patties start searing immediately when they hit the pan, helping to prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom. It also creates the characteristic crispy, browned edges and intense roasted flavour of an authentic smash burger.

For the best results, use an uncoated aluminium, cast-iron, stainless-steel or carbon-steel pan. A non-stick or Teflon-coated pan is not suitable for this method because it should not be heated to the same high temperatures. More importantly, you won’t get the same intense searing and roasted flavour that makes a smash burger so special.

The parchment paper makes it much easier to press the meatballs down without the meat sticking to your burger press or spatula.

Don’t overcrowd the pan. Depending on the size of your frying pan, you may need to cook the patties in batches.

Cooking tip:

I’ve listed the salt as optional because the burger patties, cheese, and Worcestershire sauce already provide enough salt on their own. Personally, I skip any extra salt altogether – but feel free to season to your own taste.

For an especially tasty cheeseburger, place the cheese on the patties immediately after turning them. Cover the pan briefly with a lid so the cheese melts beautifully over the hot meat.

Last but not least: Make It Your Own

You can easily adapt this homemade cheeseburger to your own taste. Use regular ketchup and mayonnaise instead of light versions, add more pickles, or leave out the onions if they aren’t your thing.

And if you want the full burger experience, don’t forget the fries!

SMASH CHEESEBURGER

Juicy smash cheeseburgers with melted cheese, fried onions and a creamy burger sauce. Easy to make at home and perfect with crispy fries!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 servings

Equipment

• Large aluminium frying pan or griddle
• Burger press or sturdy cooking spatula
• Cooking spatula
• mixing bowl
• Small bowl for the burger sauce
• Lid for the frying pan
• oil spray bottle
• Parchment paper

What you need

  

For the burgers

• 640 gr (1 lb 6.6 oz) lean ground beef
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Parchment paper
• 4 brioche burger buns
• 8 slices light cheese
• 10 sprays olive oil from an oil spray bottle
• A little lettuce (such as iceberg lettuce)
• Pickles (optional)

For the fried onions

• 4 large onions (optional; adjust the amount to taste)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt (optional)
• Black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)

For the burger sauce

• 8 Tbsp ½ cup light ketchup
• 4 Tbsp ¼ cup light mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp mustard
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt (optional)

How to prepare

 

• Cut the parchment paper into 8 equal-sized squares.
• Mix all the ingredients for the burger sauce thoroughly.
• Cut the pickles into thin slices.
• Peel the onions and cut them into rings approximately 0.5 cm (¼ inch) thick.
• Heat a large aluminium frying pan over medium-high heat without adding any oil. Add the onions and 1 Tbsp olive oil. Fry until softened and browned, seasoning with salt, if desired, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
• Cut the brioche buns in half and spray the cut sides with a little olive oil.
• Heat a large aluminium frying pan over high heat without adding any oil. Place the brioche buns cut-side down in the hot pan and toast them until golden brown.
• Meanwhile, season the ground beef with salt and pepper and knead it thoroughly by hand. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions of 80 g (2.8 oz) each. Shape each portion into a ball and place each one on a square of parchment paper.
• Once the buns are nicely toasted, remove them from the pan and set aside.
• Remove any bread crumbs from the pan and return it to the hot stove. Add two sprays of olive oil to the very hot pan and gradually add the meatballs, parchment-side up.
Important: The pan needs to be very hot before adding the patties so that they start searing immediately and do not stick. If using a non-stick pan, do not heat it to the same high temperature. For best results, use an uncoated aluminium, cast-iron, stainless-steel or carbon-steel pan.
• Using a burger press or spatula, press each meatball firmly until the meat is approximately 0.5 cm (¼ inch) thick. Remove the parchment paper.
  
• Fry the patties over high heat for approximately 2–3 minutes. If necessary, press them down again with the burger press while cooking.
• Use a spatula to flip the burger patties once the underside is nicely browned.
• Place one slice of cheese on each patty. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the cheese to melt for approximately 10–15 seconds.
• To assemble the burgers, spread some of the burger sauce over both halves of each brioche bun.
• Place some lettuce on the bottom half of each bun. Top with the fried onions.
• Place two cheeseburger patties on each bottom bun. If desired, add a little more onion and some pickle slices, then finish with the top half of the brioche bun.

Keyword burger with fried onions, easy burger recipe, homemade cheeseburger, smash burger, smash cheeseburger

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