Essential Tips for Perfect Summer Dinner Sides

I make smashburgers on steel typically. They are bad ass and once you attempt it this method, you'll never ever go back. I developed the Baking Steel back in 2012 for pizza but honestly, smashburgers might be the thing I cook on steel more than anything else these days. The work is getting your hamburger bar together: chopped pickles, onions, cheese, special sauce.

Get your frying pan or steel ripping hot. We're cooking these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you desire it yelling hot for that Maillard reaction, the sear that makes smashburgers legendary.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I've made smash burgers on this thing that individuals still talk about. Smashing the beef thin maximizes contact with the hot steel, setting off the Maillard reaction, the chemical procedure that creates that deep, mouthwatering, browned taste we all yearn for.

Your first hamburger and your 4th get the same incredible edge-to-edge crust without the temperature dropping. I 'd know my household has remained in the steel service for over 50 years at our store in Hanover, MA. I comprehend this product, and I constructed these frying pans particularly to fix the heat retention issue that cast iron can't.

How to Prepare a Gourmet Flat-Top Burger

Let it pre-heat for 10-15 minutes up until it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the same principle behind our pizza steels fill the steel with heat, and it does the work for you. Carefully divide the hamburger into 4 x 4 oz (115g) balls. Do not overwork the meat; just form it into a loose ball.

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

Prepare for another 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese. Quickly toast your buns on a cooler part of the frying pan for 15-20 seconds.

Comparing Flat-Top vs Traditional Grill Methods

Cheese melting perfectly on the Mini Frying pan Cast iron is the conventional choice for smashburgers, and it works. After evaluating both side-by-side for over a years, I switched to steel.

I understand how it shops and transfers heat in such a way most individuals never consider. That knowledge is exactly what led me to invent the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I designed the Skinny Griddle specifically for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the distinction: That indicates it recuperates temperature quicker between hamburgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

You get the very same screaming-hot crust on your first hamburger and your fourth. Just cook, scrape, wipe tidy. I've tested cast iron, stainless steel, and every frying pan 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 same amazing crust with the included benefit of outside cooking and that subtle smoky taste from the grill.

Delicious Dinner Ideas for Grilling in 2026

They stroll up anticipating regular grilled hamburgers and instead 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 created each of these for a particular use case.

It fits on a single burner and is ideal for families or burger night with friends. Exact 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.