How to Make Smash Burgers with The Works

Article by Alice K. Thompson

The thin, scrappy smash burger has almost single-handedly challenged the definition of the perfect burger. Crushed and compressed, with cracked edges and bits so crisp and browned they verge on charred may sound like a culinary train wreck, but to devotees it’s pure burger heaven. Here’s what a smash burger is, how it differs from a conventional burger, plus everything you need to know to make an excellent one at home — in minutes.

What Is a Smash Burger?

A smash burger is a thin beef patty cooked on a super-hot griddle. The burger is smashed down, usually with a spatula, to increase browning and craggy bits on the surface for extra flavor.

The smashing technique has been around for a while but was further popularized by the Smashburger chain founded in Denver in 2007 (we have a smash burger recipe inspired by the chain’s signature dish, if you’re interested). Today numerous restaurants advertise this style of burger and home cooks can choose from hundreds of recipes for making them. Fans praise the flavor the burgers get from maximum surface area and being cooked literally smashed into a screaming-hot griddle or skillet. And while generations of burger cookers once believed that pressing on a burger would force out juices and leave it dry, the science of smash burgers seems to belie this: Quickly forming a crust may actually help hold juices in.

Ingredients In Smash Burgers

These patties are so thin that it’s not uncommon to have two sandwiched together; a double-decker smash burger offers twice as much deep, dark, caramelized surface in each bun.

Ground Beef: As with hamburgers generally, ground beef rules the smash burger universe. Kardea Brown calls for ground chuck (80/20), a good rule of thumb to ensure juicy results. Smashed turkey burgers and smashed plant-based burgers are also options.

Kosher salt and black pepper: Kosher salt and pepper are usually the only seasonings used in or on the patty itself, although recipes can vary.

Butter: Kardea melts butter in a cast iron skillet to impart flavor to the burger. You can use neutral oil, too.

Cheese and toppings: Almost all smash burgers are cheeseburgers, although this too isn’t an absolute requirement. And when it comes to toppings, they can run the gamut but often feature butter-toasted buns and a slathering of a mayo-based burger sauce.

Smash Burgers vs. Regular Burgers

What’s the difference between smash burgers and regular burgers?

Way You Cook the Burger: Whereas regular burgers hit the grill or griddle already formed into patties, smash burgers start as just loose balls of ground beef plopped on the grill first, then smashed down with a spatula or burger press until they’re ultra-thin.

Shape of the Patty: And while a plump, evenly shaped patty is the goal with a traditional burger, smash burgers develop uneven edges and lots of nooks and crannies, all of which get extra dark by being crushed into the cooking surface.

How Long You Cook the Burger: With a regular burger, the length of cooking usually revolves around having the interior of the patty reach a particular doneness, like medium-rare or medium. But with a smash burger the determining doneness factor is the exterior: The burger is ready when the outside is deeply browned and caramelized for maximum flavor.