THE SMASH BURGER Recipe You've Been Waiting For

Mince the beef through a coarse grind setting (approximately 4.5mm).

“A coarse grind gives the burger a better texture and bite.”

Run the coarsely ground beef through a second, finer grind to evenly distribute fat throughout the meat.

“Double grinding ensures even fat distribution for a juicier patty.”

Use an ice cream scoop to portion the minced beef into 100g spheres.

“Using a scoop ensures consistent portion sizes across all patties.”

Mould the 100g beef portions into round balls and set aside on a prep tray.

Chop the top off a white onion and discard.

Chop the bottom off the white onion and discard.

Slice the white onion into 1cm thick rings.

“Keeping the rings 1cm thick ensures they hold together during charring.”

Set aside one 1cm onion ring per burger.

Add mayonnaise to a bowl.

Add yellow mustard to the bowl.

Add cayenne pepper to the bowl.

Add pickle juice to the bowl.

Add sugar to the bowl.

Add black pepper to the bowl.

Add fine salt to the bowl.

Blend pickles with garlic cloves in a blender until a paste forms.

Mix the blended pickle and garlic paste into the sauce bowl.

Taste the sauce to check flavour.

“Adjust seasoning to your personal preference.”

Add more pickle to the sauce if desired.

Add more cayenne pepper to the sauce if more heat is desired.

Add more sugar to the sauce if more sweetness is desired.

Heat a cast iron plate to high heat and oil it.

“A very hot cast iron surface is essential for achieving a proper smash burger crust.”

Salt both sides of an onion ring.

Place the salted onion ring on the hot oiled cast iron plate.

Flip the onion ring to char the other side.

Slice a potato bun in half.

Place the inside of the bottom half of the potato bun on the hot cast iron plate to toast.

Sear the top of the bottom bun half to get a nice colour.

Place the inside of the top half of the potato bun on the hot cast iron plate to toast.

Sear the top of the top bun half to get a nice colour.

Add more oil to the cast iron plate.

Generously salt the beef spheres.

“Season generously — the patties are thin so seasoning needs to be bold.”

Generously pepper the beef spheres.

Place the seasoned beef spheres on the hot oiled cast iron plate.

Oil the bottom of a spatula.

“Oiling the spatula prevents the beef from sticking when smashing.”

Press down on each beef sphere with the oiled spatula until each patty is approximately 1cm thick.

“Apply firm, even pressure to maximise the crust surface area.”

Wait until juices bubble on the patty surface and a dark crust forms underneath.

“Do not rush this step — the crust is the defining feature of a smash burger.”

Flip the patties over.

Immediately apply one slice of Red Leicester cheese to each patty.

“Adding cheese immediately after flipping gives it maximum time to melt.”

Add a splash of water to the pan.

“The water creates steam which helps melt the cheese quickly and evenly.”

Cover the pan with a lid to steam the cheese.

Wait for the cheese to melt completely.

Stack the patties on top of each other.

Place a charred onion ring on top of the stacked patties.

Place the top half of the potato bun on top of the stack.

Cover with the lid and steam for approximately 30 seconds.

Remove the burger from heat.

Apply sauce to the bottom bun.

“Be generous with the sauce for full coverage.”

Add pickles to the bottom bun.

Place the stacked patties with onion and cheese on top of the sauced and pickled bottom bun.

Place the top bun on the assembled burger.

Serve the completed smash burger.

“Serve immediately while the patties are hot and the cheese is still melted.”