½ head of iceberg lettuce, finely shredded (about 2 cups)
1 tomato, sliced ¼-inch thick
4 portions of cheese
4 tablespoons of secret sauce for bun tops
For the secret sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
2 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot sauce
pinch of kosher salt
Takes ,
serves 4.
Instructions
Prepare the secret sauce: Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a small bowl and stir together until combined. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the sauce (for burger smashing) to the side. Cover the remaining to dress and be served with the burgers.
Portion the burgers: Using a scale, divide ground beef into 8, 3-ounce portions. Gently shape each portion into a ball. Place onto plate or platter, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Heat griddle to high heat. If using a barbecue, place griddle onto the grate, turn to high heat and close the lid. Leave barbecue undisturbed for 15 minutes or until the temperature reaches 500°F.
Prepare buns: Open buns onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Place under broiler to toast. Brush with butter, then close buns, leaving them in a warm location until served. If toasting buns on the barbecue, watch closely to prevent burning.
Cook patties: Place the first 4 balls of beef onto the griddle, leaving ample room between each. Working quickly, place parchment-lined grill press over each ball and press down quickly and firmly. When all of the patties have been pressed, season each with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Using a basting brush, apply a generous swipe of the reserved secret sauce to each patty. Cook patties for one minute, then flip them over. Add another swipe of the secret sauce. Add cheese to each and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer cooked patties to a stainless platter. Scrape any burger bits towards the back of the griddle. Repeat process with remaining portions of meat, adding cheese to the second round only if desired. Transfer each of these patties onto one of the previous ones. Return to the work area to assemble.
Assemble: Place bun bottoms out on work surface and add a handful of shredded lettuce onto each. Place a slice of tomato on top of the lettuce. Add a stack of 2 patties on top of the tomato slice. Apply a generous amount of sauce to the underside of each bun top before placing on top of each burger.
Serve immediately with remaining secret sauce on the side.
Easy Smash Burgers with Secret Sauce
Ingredients
For the patties:
1½ pounds ground beef
sprinkle of kosher salt
sprinkle of black pepper
4 tablespoons of secret sauce
To assemble:
4 hamburger buns
1 tablespoon butter
½ head of iceberg lettuce, finely shredded (about 2 cups)
1 tomato, sliced ¼-inch thick
4 portions of cheese
4 tablespoons of secret sauce for bun tops
For the secret sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
2 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot sauce
pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Prepare the secret sauce: Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a small bowl and stir together until combined. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the sauce (for burger smashing) to the side. Cover the remaining to dress and be served with the burgers.
Portion the burgers: Using a scale, divide ground beef into 8, 3-ounce portions. Gently shape each portion into a ball. Place onto plate or platter, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Heat griddle to high heat. If using a barbecue, place griddle onto the grate, turn to high heat and close the lid. Leave barbecue undisturbed for 15 minutes or until the temperature reaches 500°F.
Prepare buns: Open buns onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Place under broiler to toast. Brush with butter, then close buns, leaving them in a warm location until served. If toasting buns on the barbecue, watch closely to prevent burning.
Cook patties: Place the first 4 balls of beef onto the griddle, leaving ample room between each. Working quickly, place parchment-lined grill press over each ball and press down quickly and firmly. When all of the patties have been pressed, season each with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Using a basting brush, apply a generous swipe of the reserved secret sauce to each patty. Cook patties for one minute, then flip them over. Add another swipe of the secret sauce. Add cheese to each and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer cooked patties to a stainless platter. Scrape any burger bits towards the back of the griddle. Repeat process with remaining portions of meat, adding cheese to the second round only if desired. Transfer each of these patties onto one of the previous ones. Return to the work area to assemble.
Assemble: Place bun bottoms out on work surface and add a handful of shredded lettuce onto each. Place a slice of tomato on top of the lettuce. Add a stack of 2 patties on top of the tomato slice. Apply a generous amount of sauce to the underside of each bun top before placing on top of each burger.
Serve immediately with remaining secret sauce on the side.
Easy Smash Burgers with Secret Sauce
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All-beef patties, smashed, sauced, cheesed up, doubled down and stacked…
Let’s make our EASY SMASH BURGERS WITH SECRET SAUCE.
If the very thought of a tender, juicy, really well-made burger is what brought you here, let me just say, you’ve come to the right place. Not only do our delicious SMASH BURGERS deliver, the recipe is also in good company. So after you’ve enjoyed them, make sure to check out our HOMEMADE JUICY HAMBURGERS, our seriously popular SALMON BURGERS and these EASY TURKEY BURGERS. Casual weekend menus always welcome burgers.
This smash burger recipe gives us the feels for a lot of reasons:
– SMASH BURGERS are easy to make.
– They’re crispy and juicy at the same time.
– This recipe is about key flavours – patties, buns, lettuce, tomato, cheese and sauce.
Before I work through our list of pro tips, how about a friendly reminder to PIN this stellar burger recipe to a favourite Pinterest board. You can also share this LINK with friends. Lastly, take pics of the recipe when you make it and post them using #weekendatthecottage on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
Ready? Here’s how we do EASY SMASH BURGERS WITH SECRET SAUCE:
These readily available ingredients are all easy to work with.
INGREDIENTS
I really hope you look at this pic of the ingredients and think, “This recipe looks pretty basic.” Well, let me just say, it is. Much of the hype about these burgers goes to the way the beef patties are smashed down and cooked on an extremely hot, flat griddle. But, we also discovered that you can really elevate the flavours of the finished burgers by using choice ingredients. Try to follow our lead and use premium lean ground beef, burger buns and slices of cheese, as well as locally or organically grown vegetables. You will taste the difference.
Using a scale to measure the portions of beef ensures a uniform grill time for all the patties.
BEEF PATTIES
As mentioned, we’re suggesting you make your burger patties using lean ground beef. There’s no need to add anything to the beef, just a sprinkle of salt and pepper as they cook. The important prep step here is to weigh the patties. We crafted the recipe to yield four sandwiches. Each sandwich is made with two grilled patties, so you’ll need eight in total. Making 3-ounce patties, we needed 1½ pounds of beef. If you have a really famished crowd in your midst, pick up 2 pounds of lean ground beef so you can craft eight 4-ounce burgers.
These smash burgers are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
When portioning the meat for the patties, think of them as meatballs. We do it like the pros and use a kitchen scale to get uniform balls of hamburger meat. Once weighed, take the portion of meat and gently form it into a ball shape. The goal is a loose ball of beef, so don’t gather it up too firmly. Once the meatball-shaped portions of beef are all formed, cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to grill.
The secret’s out! This sauce is mighty tasty on burgers.
SECRET SAUCE
The secret’s out and we couldn’t be more pleased. This special sauce is the only condiment required when serving our smash burgers, making the recipe even more simple. That said, we do understand that burgers are a personal thing, so think of this burger sauce as just the beginning and add any traditional toppings you might enjoy, such as sweet pickle relish, dill pickles, mustard and sliced onion. If you serve them with oven-baked potato wedges or french fries, have ketchup or mayonnaise on the side. Love it!
Shave the iceberg thinly and cut heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes.
LETTUCE AND TOMATO
I’ve given these two burger-friendly vegetables the moniker of “go-betweens”. When selecting your iceberg lettuce, try to find a head that looks quite green. Remove the central core before shredding it and keep it covered and refrigerated; it needs to stay crisp. For the tomato, if you’re crafting four burgers as we did, you just need one, so make it a beauty. I’m suggesting a vine-ripened heirloom or big juicy beefsteak tomato. Use one slice per sandwich, about ¼-inch thick.
Don’t forget to toast the hamburger buns plus, give them a swipe of butter too. Yum!
HAMBURGER BUNS
For best results, make sure to pick up the freshest hamburger buns you can find. This is not the time to be defrosting buns that have been languishing in the deep freeze for a number of months. Head to your favourite bakery or grocery store and look for superior buns with those gorgeous, glossy, sesame seed-studded tops. As I explain in the VIDEO for this recipe, buy standard-sized buns if making 3-ounce sized patties, or pick up the larger buns if your hungry crowd has you crafting 4-ounce patties. One last thing about the buns; toast and butter the tops and bottoms.
Try these burgers with your favourite cheeses remembering, kids love cheddar singles!
CHEESE
Let me end any doubt right here, right now by categorically confirming that we love cheese! Whether we’re arranging favourite cheeses for our EASY CHARCUTERIE BOARD, grilling it up until it’s stringy and gooey in our BEST GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES (with bacon!) or using it to make our cheesy CROQUE MONSIEUR, cheese is always welcome. For these smash burgers we’re going to let you pick your favourite, but, and this is a big but, don’t forget to consider cheese singles. Probably safe to say every kid out there would choose singles first for good reason – they taste pretty perfect on these patties.
TOOLS
You’ll find options down below in the Amazon section of this post to purchase the essential tools we used to create this recipe. Having a flat top heated cooking surface on which to smash-cook the patties is key. Although you can use an electric griddle or a skillet, we vote against it as it produces a lot of smoke; queue your smoke detector. Our preferred cooking method is a cast-iron griddle on the barbecue – it works like a charm. We also appreciate the functionality of a grill press. The heavy form with the handle makes smashing a breeze. If you already have a stainless steel barbecue flipper, no need to purchase a new one. Make do with the one you have.
Make sure the griddle is good and hot before you cook the patties.
HOT GRIDDLE
The key to cooking your all-beef burger patties to perfection is the hot griddle. For best results, place the griddle on the barbecue grill. Ignite the gas elements directly under the griddle, shut the lid and leave the barbecue to preheat for 15 minutes. You want a very hot grill, so your goal temperature is 500°F. Having the griddle searing hot achieves two things, getting the surface of the patties all crispy and sealing in the juices. Pro tip: cut pieces of parchment paper to match the shape of your grill press and slot them between the beef and the press to prevent sticking.
STACK THEM UP
Yes, we could have made these sandwiches with one patty, but that just didn’t feel right. Instead, we’re going for maximum taste sensation by stacking them up. Cooking the burgers in batches yields two thin patties with crisp outer edges and golden brown centres – perfect! We’re talking a double-decker cheeseburger you just won’t believe.
Get creative and try to serve these burgers in casual, burger-joint serviceware.
PRESENTATION
Before I show you the final results of our EASY SMASH BURGERS WITH SECRET SAUCE, just a reminder to present them in an enticing way. A quick trip to my local general mercantile in cottage country provided a number of fun options. Whether you’re doling them out in checkerboard parchment paper-lined plastic diner baskets, whimsical take-away burger boxes or some favourite outdoor-friendly dinnerware, make the effort. Serving this type of meal in interesting serving ware is sure to build the enjoyment. Oh, and better have plenty of napkins at the ready because they’re extra juicy.
Serve these delicious burgers with the extra secret sauce on the side.
SERVE
And here we go, the final word on assembly. Add a generous handful of shredded lettuce to the hamburger bun bottoms; it’s okay if things get a bit messy. Then add the slice of tomato, the two cheesed-up smash burgers, and smear some of the secret sauce on the top bun. Put it in place and you have a fabulous finished burger, ready to be enjoyed. Oh, if you can muster fries or even just potato chips to serve with, go for it!
Serving your burgers in faux takeaway boxes is a fun touch!
These EASY SMASH BURGERS WITH SECRET SAUCE are the best tasting burgers we’ve had in a long time. Enjoy!
Cook Mode Use cook mode to keep your screen on while cooking.
Ingredients
For the patties:
1½ pounds ground beef
sprinkle of kosher salt
sprinkle of black pepper
4 tablespoons of secret sauce
To assemble:
4 hamburger buns
1 tablespoon butter
½ head of iceberg lettuce, finely shredded (about 2 cups)
1 tomato, sliced ¼-inch thick
4 portions of cheese
4 tablespoons of secret sauce for bun tops
For the secret sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
2 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot sauce
pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Prepare the secret sauce: Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a small bowl and stir together until combined. Reserve 4 tablespoons of the sauce (for burger smashing) to the side. Cover the remaining to dress and be served with the burgers.
Portion the burgers: Using a scale, divide ground beef into 8, 3-ounce portions. Gently shape each portion into a ball. Place onto plate or platter, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Heat griddle to high heat. If using a barbecue, place griddle onto the grate, turn to high heat and close the lid. Leave barbecue undisturbed for 15 minutes or until the temperature reaches 500°F.
Prepare buns: Open buns onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Place under broiler to toast. Brush with butter, then close buns, leaving them in a warm location until served. If toasting buns on the barbecue, watch closely to prevent burning.
Cook patties: Place the first 4 balls of beef onto the griddle, leaving ample room between each. Working quickly, place parchment-lined grill press over each ball and press down quickly and firmly. When all of the patties have been pressed, season each with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper. Using a basting brush, apply a generous swipe of the reserved secret sauce to each patty. Cook patties for one minute, then flip them over. Add another swipe of the secret sauce. Add cheese to each and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer cooked patties to a stainless platter. Scrape any burger bits towards the back of the griddle. Repeat process with remaining portions of meat, adding cheese to the second round only if desired. Transfer each of these patties onto one of the previous ones. Return to the work area to assemble.
Assemble: Place bun bottoms out on work surface and add a handful of shredded lettuce onto each. Place a slice of tomato on top of the lettuce. Add a stack of 2 patties on top of the tomato slice. Apply a generous amount of sauce to the underside of each bun top before placing on top of each burger.
Serve immediately with remaining secret sauce on the side.
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