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!
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
Ingredients
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)
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
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.