These burgers are a smash at cookouts
My niece Holly and her husband Don are chefs. Dinner invitations to their friends' homes are few. The excuse? Pals say they are intimidated by the fancy food the couple serve when entertaining at their house.
To prove a point, they hosted a gathering designed to show that their party food could be delicious and utterly casual, making smashed cheeseburgers, a one-at-a-time culinary performance art of sorts. Each two-patty burger takes less than two minutes to cook on a super-hot plancha (cast iron griddle) perched on the grate of a gas or charcoal grill. It goes fast.
Buns are toasted and topped with condiments before grilling starts, so the burgers go together quickly, the cheese layered between the patties melted to perfection. It seems like a great idea for July 4th gatherings with four to six guests. The plancha process goes fast: smash, sizzle, flip, cheese, sizzle, stack.
Smash Cheeseburgers Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
24 ounces freshly ground beef
6 soft hamburger buns
Soft butter for spreading on buns Condiment suggestions: easy burger thousand island dressing (3parts mayo plus 1 part ketchup), lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, sliced tomato, sliced pickles, mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6thin slices melting cheese, such as American or Jack
DIRECTIONS
Divide ground beef into 2-ounce portions and roll each into a ball and place on plate. (The easiest way to do this is with a kitchen scale. If you don't have one, roll the meat into 1¾-inch diameter balls, trying to make them the same size.)
Place plancha (large cast iron griddle) on a charcoal or gas grill grate and heat until sizzling hot, 550 to 600 degrees. This will take about 10to 15minutes. Meanwhile, prepare buns. Thinly smear cut surface of each bun with soft butter. Place butter-side-up on rimmed baking sheet and broil until just toasted, watching carefully.
Before you grill the burgers, first top the buns with desired condiments and set them next to the grill. Cook the burgers one (2patties) or two (4patties) at a time: Place two balls of meat for each burger about 4inches apart on the super-hot plancha. Use a smashburger press or a large solid spatula (plus a potato masher or similar implement to increase pressure) to press the meat into very thin patties. Remove spatula or press; there may be areas that have small holes. Grill about a minute (tops will begin to turn pale pinkish gray in spots), seasoning with salt and pepper.
Use a thin flexible metal spatula to turn each patty (trying to capture all browned bits, using a scraping motion) and immediately top one of each pair of patties with cheese. Grill about 30seconds more. Then place patty without cheese atop the one with cheese. Transfer to prepared bun and serve.