There’s something about a smash burger that regular burgers can’t give you. Maybe it’s in the way a flatter burger browns better, making it more aromatic and flavorful. Or in how it comes out chewier and drier, just like the drive-thru burgers your family used to eat on road trips when you were growing up.
Whatever it is (and I can’t put my finger on it), one thing’s for sure: a well-made smash burger is damn right delicious. In fact, it’s probably one of the best burgers you’ve ever had.
Partly thanks to the success of Smashburger, one of America’s fastest-growing restaurant chains in the last few decades, partly thanks to burger historian, author, and filmmaker George Motz and his show on First We Feast, Burger Scholar Sessions, in recent years, smash burgers became a thing.
True to its name, you make a smash burger by pressing it down with a spatula as soon as you put it on your frying pan or flat-top grill. If, for some reason, you don’t have a spatula in your home kitchen, Lifehacker recommends that you pre-smash the burger by pressing down on the meat firmly with the bottom of a heavy skillet.
It’s an open secret that cheese makes everything better. Especially when it comes to building the perfect burger. Seriously, I dare you: try to name one person who doesn’t like melted cheese on a juicy burger!
Enjoying burgers is one thing; making them is another. When talking to others on the topic, one of the questions I often get asked is, “When should I add the cheese to it?”
Every burger recipe will instruct you to do roughly the same: find good meat, shape your burger, season it with salt and pepper, and cook it to your desired level of doneness.
If you’re here, then you probably agree with me that that’s easier said than done. In fact, burgers can be notoriously hard to get right. You can easily overcook and just as easily undercook them; what’s hard is getting them right.
Whether you’re about to cook burgers on the grill, stove, or in the oven, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be a hit or miss. Here are the three best ways to tell if your burger is done.
So you made burgers, and they stuck to your pan? It’s frustrating enough to make any burger lover lose their appetite!
Since you’re here, you probably don’t have a non-stick pan. You could probably get one and cook all of your food with it. Or you could try what I’m about to share with you below.
One of the most heated debates in the world of burgers is about the level of doneness the patties should be cooked to.
There are convincing arguments on both sides. In this post, I’m going to take an honest and non-biased look at each—and help you decide to what level of doneness to cook your burgers.
If you’re wondering whether to pan-fry your burgers or bake them in the oven, you’re not alone. Every day, thousands of home cooks like you are asking the same question online.
In this post, I’ve explored each’s pros and cons so that you can decide which of these cooking methods to go for.
Whether you’re making burgers on the outside grill or searing them on your stove with a skillet, it’s important to know how to cook it.
When I talk about burgers with friends and readers who are beginners in cooking, one of the questions that come up the most is, “Should you cook burgers in oil or butter?”
In this post, I’m going to give you my take on the topic. Butter may seem like a good choice, but cooking correctly with it is a bit tricker than most people think.
I’m guessing that most home cooks know how to cook a burger. But if you’re here, you’ve probably never cooked one from frozen before—and are wondering if doing so is a good idea in the first place.
Though some people will try hard to convince you otherwise, cooking frozen burgers doesn’t have to be a hit or a miss. In this post, I’ll share how to do it and what pitfalls to avoid so that your patties come out evenly cooked and perfectly juicy.
