Delicious Dinner Secrets for Summer 2026

I make smashburgers on steel often. The work is getting your burger bar together: sliced pickles, onions, cheese, special sauce.

Get your frying pan or steel ripping hot. You need to work quickly. We're preparing these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you want it yelling hot for that Maillard response, the sear that makes smashburgers legendary. I like to smash for good friends. Most of the time, they've already had our Baking Steel pizza, and I like to mix up the menu.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash hamburgers on this thing that people still discuss. Smashburgers in your home are off the charts. Here's how I do it. More surface area equals more flavor. Smashing the beef thin maximizes contact with the hot steel, activating the Maillard reaction, the chemical process that develops that deep, mouthwatering, browned taste all of us long for.

Your first hamburger and your fourth get the same extraordinary edge-to-edge crust without the temperature level dropping. I 'd understand my family has actually been in the steel organization for over 50 years at our store in Hanover, MA. I comprehend this material, and I constructed these griddles particularly to solve the heat retention issue that cast iron can't.

Delicious Dinner Ideas for Grilling in 2026

Let it pre-heat for 10-15 minutes until it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the very same principle behind our pizza steels load the steel with heat, and it does the work for you.

Immediately smash them extremely thin (about 1/4 inch) with a stiff spatula or press. To prevent sticking, you can put a small piece of parchment paper in between the meat and the spatula. Season the smashed patties kindly with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Cook for 60-90 seconds. You'll see the edges turn a deep, crispy brown.

Use a bench scraper or stiff spatula to get under the patty, ensuring you scrape up all the crispy, browned bits. Flip it over. Instantly position a slice of cheese on the flipped patty. Prepare for another 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese. Quickly toast your buns on a cooler part of the griddle for 15-20 seconds.

Delicious Dinner and Home Recipes for Grilling Patties

Cheese melting completely on the Mini Frying pan Cast iron is the conventional choice for smashburgers, and it works. I used cast iron for years. After checking both side-by-side for over a decade, I changed to steel. And appearance, I'm not simply a guy with a viewpoint. My household has actually run considering that the 1960s.

I comprehend how it shops and transfers heat in such a way the majority of people never ever consider. That understanding is precisely what led me to invent the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I designed the Skinny Griddle particularly for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the distinction: That suggests it recuperates temperature quicker in between burgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Steel does not drop. You get the very same screaming-hot crust on your very first hamburger and your 4th. It warms up faster and disperses heat more equally. No locations, no cold spots. Simply constant, edge-to-edge browning. No flavoring, no babying. Just cook, scrape, wipe tidy. I've evaluated cast iron, stainless-steel, and every griddle on the market.

Pre-heat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your burgers right on the steel. You get the exact same extraordinary crust with the added benefit of outdoor cooking and that subtle smoky taste from the grill.

How to Craft a Gourmet Flat-Top Burger

They walk up expecting routine grilled burgers and rather they see me smashing patties on a piece of American-made steel on the grill. Perfect smash hamburgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outside grill I designed each of these for a particular usage case.

It fits on a single burner and is perfect for families or burger night with friends. Same heat retention, smaller sized footprint. Utilize it in the oven for pizza, or take it outside and location it on your grill for smashburgers, steaks, and more.