Smash Burgers

Ingredients

• Burgers: 4 beef balls, about 125 g each
• Burgers: salt
• Burgers: black pepper
• Onions: 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• Cheese: 4–8 slices American cheese or cheddar
• Pickles: Kühne Gurken Viertel pickles, thinly sliced
• Buns: 4 burger buns
• Butter or oil: a small amount for toasting buns if needed
• Burger sauce: 6 tbsp mayonnaise
• Burger sauce: 2 tbsp ketchup
• Burger sauce: 1 tbsp mustard
• Burger sauce: 1 tbsp pickle juice
• Burger sauce: 2 tbsp finely chopped pickles
• Burger sauce: 1 tsp garlic powder
• Burger sauce: 1/2 tsp paprika
• Burger sauce: black pepper

Method

1. Make the burger sauce: combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, pickle juice, chopped pickles, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper. Let it sit while you cook.
2. Prep everything before turning on the heat: slice the pickles, prepare the cheese, open the buns, and keep salt and pepper close. Smash burgers move fast.
3. Cook the onions over medium heat for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden. Remove and set aside.
4. Toast the buns over medium heat with a little butter if available. Toast the cut sides until golden, then remove.
5. Heat a stainless pan over very high heat until seriously hot. You want slight smoke and aggressive sizzling.
6. Do not season the meat beforehand. Put a beef ball on the hot pan, smash it hard immediately into a very thin patty, hold pressure for 10 seconds, then season with salt and pepper.
7. Cook the first side for about 90 seconds, until a dark crust forms. Do not move it too early.
8. Scrape aggressively underneath the patty, flip once, then immediately add cheese and cooked onions on top. Cook the second side for 30–60 seconds.
9. Assemble each burger with sauce on the bottom bun, the burger patty, more onions, thinly sliced pickles, and a tiny swipe of sauce on the top bun.
10. For the recommended double smash, stack two patties with double cheese, onions, pickles, and sauce. Eat immediately.
11. Do not press after flipping or you will lose juices. Do not overcrowd the pan; cook two patties max at once.
12. Bonus Oklahoma-style move: after smashing, add sliced onions directly onto the patty and smash them into the meat.