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burger on a cutting board

Smashburger with Special Sauce

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Teri Turner
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2 burgers
  • Category: Burgers
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This Smashburger is the burger of the summer. It’s so delicious and something the whole family will absolutely love. 


Ingredients

For the Spice blend

  •  ½ teaspoon salt
  •  ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
  •  ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  •  1/8 teaspoon paprika

For the Special Sauce

  •  ½ cup mayonnaise
  •  2 tablespoons finely chopped dill pickles
  •  1 teaspoon hot sauce
  •  1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  •  1 teaspoon dill pickle juice

For the Burgers

  •  12 ounces Porter Road Ground Beef
  •  2 brioche buns, or gluten free bread
  •  2 tablespoons mayonnaise, divided
  •  2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  •  1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, divided
  •  4 slices cheddar cheese
  •  1 ripe tomato, sliced and lightly salted
  •  ¼ head iceberg, thinly shredded
  •  Pickle slices, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Turn oven to 175°or lowest temperature available.
  2. Make the spice blend: In a small bowl, combine the salt, garlic, pepper, and paprika. Set aside.
  3. Make the Special Sauce: In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, pickles, hot sauce, dijon, and pickle juice. Set aside.
  4. Divide the ground beef into 4 even chunks, or about 3 ounces each, and loosely roll into balls. Make sure not to overpack or over-handle the meat, which will lead to tough burgers.
  5. Put the meat balls on a plate and place the plate in the freezer for ten minutes.
  6. After 5 minutes, put a cast iron skillet on a medium flame.
  7. Take your brioche buns and spread half a tablespoon of mayo on the cut side of each half a bun.
  8. Put the bun halves on the cast iron pan, cut side down and toast until browned and crispy, 1 ½ to 2 ½ minutes (keep checking as the tops sometimes cook faster than the bottoms!).
  9. Once the buns are toasted, place on a sheet tray and put in the oven to keep warm.
  10. Take the meat out of the freezer.
  11. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and raise the heat to high.
  12. When the butter has melted, add two balls of meat to the pan and after ten seconds, swiftly smash the balls one at time with a lightly oiled spatula or a heavy pan as much as you can, to create very thin, broad patties.
  13. Immediately sprinkle half the spice blend over the two patties and drizzle ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce per patty.
  14. Cook until seared and crispy, for about 1 1/2 minutes, then flip.
  15. Top one patty with two slices of cheese and cook for another 15 seconds.
  16. Stack the cheeseless patty on top of the other patty, so that the cheese binds them together, and remove them to a their own sheet tray in the oven.  (Teri Tip: Avoid using the same tray as the buns so that the buns do not get soggy from the juices.)
  17. Repeat with the other two balls of meat.
  18. Remove the buns and patty stacks from the oven.
  19. Spread the special sauce on the bottom buns. Top the sauce with shredded lettuce and tomatoes and pickles. Add a burger stack to each bottom bun and top with the top bun.
  20. Eat right away and enjoy!