The quickest and easiest way to make flavorful burgers at home is by using this recipe for Smash Burgers! The burger patties are small and smashed thin, so they cook quickly and achieve a wonderful crust on the outside. Stack up two patties with burger sauce, pickles and onions, to make a seriously delicious burger in just 10 minutes!
If you don’t already have burger spread prepared, be sure to prepare the burger spread before making the burgers.
To make the burger spread, combine 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 2 tablespoons finely chopped pickles (or pickle relish) and 2 teaspoons dijon mustard in a small bowl. Set aside.
Season the ground beef with salt and pepper, then portion out the ground beef into 2 ounce balls. (I recommend using a kitchen scale to get the precise measurement.)
Heat a griddle over medium-high heat.
Add the vegetable oil to the griddle and place the buns face-down on the griddle.
Toast the hamburger buns for approximately 1 minute, or until browned around the edges.
Remove the buns from the griddle, spread burger sauce on the bottom bun and top with 2-3 pickle slices, sliced onions and shredded lettuce. Set aside.
Turn the heat on the griddle up to high.
Spray the back of a large flat metal spatula with cooking spray.
Place each of the balls of ground beef on the hot griddle. Use the back of the spatula to smash the ground beef into flattened burger patties. Cook for 1 minute.
Flip the burgers and place a piece of cheese on half of the burger patties.
Place the other burger patties, not topped with cheese, on top of the cheese-topped burger patties.
Cook for 30 seconds, then remove the burgers from the griddle and place them on the prepared buns.
Serve immediately.
Notes
To make smash burger sliders, follow the instructions above, except form 16 one-ounce balls of beef, instead of 8 two-ounce balls. Smash the balls of beef on a griddle, just like you would with the full-size burgers. Cut a slice of cheese into 4 squares and top each slider burger patty with a 1/4 slice of cheese. For serving the sliders, use sliders rolls or Hawaiian rolls, instead of hamburger buns. I like to simply add a little burger sauce and one pickle to each bottom slider bun, but feel free to add your favorite toppings, or no toppings at all.
To make these burgers “protein style”, ditch the bun and replace it with two large leaves of iceberg lettuce. This is also a great option to make the burger gluten-free and low carb.
If you don’t have a griddle, you can make the burgers in a skillet. Depending on the size of your skillet, you’ll probably only be able to fit 2, or maybe 4, burger patties in the skillet at a time. I recommend a cast iron skillet, or cast iron griddle pan if you have one available. A cast iron skillet can be used on the stove, or on a grill, to make these burgers.