Mastering the Flat-Top: Best Burger Methods

I make smashburgers on steel frequently. The work is getting your hamburger bar together: sliced pickles, onions, cheese, unique sauce.

Get your frying pan or steel ripping hot. You need to work quick. We're preparing these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you desire it shouting hot for that Maillard response, the sear that makes smashburgers legendary. I love to smash for buddies. Most of the time, they've currently had our Baking Steel pizza, and I like to blend the menu.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash burgers on this thing that people still talk about. Smashing the beef thin maximizes contact with the hot steel, triggering the Maillard response, the chemical process that develops that deep, tasty, browned flavor we all crave.

Your very first hamburger and your fourth get the very same amazing edge-to-edge crust without the temperature dropping. I 'd know my household has actually been in the steel business for over 50 years at our shop in Hanover, MA. I comprehend this product, and I constructed these griddles particularly to resolve the heat retention problem that cast iron can't.

Making Restaurant-Quality Sides in Your Kitchen

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

Season the smashed patties kindly with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Prepare for 60-90 seconds.

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

Why Fresh Ingredients Elevate Home Cooking

Cheese melting perfectly on the Mini Frying pan Cast iron is the conventional choice for smashburgers, and it works. I used cast iron for many years. After testing both side-by-side for over a decade, I switched to steel. And look, I'm not simply a guy with an opinion. My family has actually run considering that the 1960s.

I comprehend how it shops and transfers heat in a manner many people never ever think of. That knowledge is exactly what led me to create the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I created the Skinny Griddle specifically for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the difference: That suggests it recuperates temperature level faster between hamburgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Steel doesn't drop. You get the same screaming-hot crust on your very first hamburger and your fourth. It warms up quicker and distributes heat more equally. No hot areas, no cold areas. Simply constant, edge-to-edge browning. No flavoring, no babying. Just cook, scrape, wipe clean. I've checked cast iron, stainless steel, and every frying pan on the marketplace.

Wish to take your smashburger video game outside? Position your Baking Steel Original directly on your outdoor grill grates. Pre-heat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your hamburgers right on the steel. You get the same amazing crust with the added advantage of outside cooking and that subtle smoky taste from the grill.

Delicious Dinner Secrets for Grilling in 2026

Buddies lose their minds when they see it. They walk up expecting routine grilled burgers and rather they see me smashing patties on a piece of American-made steel on the grill. It's an entire thing. Perfect smash burgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outside grill I designed each of these for a particular use case.

It fits on a single burner and is perfect for households or hamburger night with friends. Exact same heat retention, smaller sized footprint. Utilize it in the oven for pizza, or take it outdoors and location it on your grill for smashburgers, steaks, and more.