How I figured out Smashed cheeseburger

Every attempt, what changed, and how it turned out — captured live in RecipePo.

1. 1
   Attempt #1

   2/5

   Non-stick pan, default supermarket buns, no special technique.

   Pale, no crust, beef was a bit grey. Cheese didn't melt fully. The whole thing felt like a homemade burger, not a smash.

   Ingredients

   • 400gground beef, 80/20
   • 4American cheese slices
   • 2soft potato buns
   • salt and pepper

   Method

   1. Form four loose 100 g balls of beef. 2. Heat a non-stick pan medium-high. Smash the balls with a spatula and cook 3 min a side. 3. Add cheese, stack on buns.

2. 2
   Attempt #2

   4/5

   Switched to ripping-hot cast iron, smashed harder, butter-toasted the buns and built a proper sauce.

   Big crust, cheese melted properly. Patties were a touch dry at the edges — need to leave the smash thicker, or pull them sooner.

   Ingredients

   • 400gground beef, 80/20, cold
   • 4American cheese slices
   • 2potato buns, butter-toasted
   • 1white onion, thinly sliced
   • flaky salt and pepper
   • 2tbspmayonnaise
   • 1tbspketchup
   • 1tspyellow mustard
   • 1tbspchopped pickles

   Method

   1. Preheat a cast iron pan over high heat for 5 min until it just smokes. 2. Form 100 g balls, place on the pan, press hard with a spatula for 10 seconds. 3. Salt, cook 90 seconds, flip, top with cheese, cook another 60 seconds. 4. Toast buns in butter. Mix mayo, ketchup, mustard and pickles for a quick sauce. Stack two patties per bun with sauce and raw onion.

3. 3
   Attempt #3

   5/5The one that worked

   Laid the onions under the patty so they fuse into the crust, used Martin's buns + Kewpie mayo, and pulled the patties 30 seconds sooner.

   Diner-counter perfect. Glassy crust, melty cheese, sweet onion in every bite. Three friends asked when I'm doing it again.

   Ingredients

   • 400gground beef, 80/20, kept fridge-cold
   • 4American cheese slices
   • 2Martin's potato buns
   • 1small white onion, sliced paper-thin
   • flaky salt and coarse black pepper
   • 2tbspKewpie mayonnaise
   • 1tbspketchup
   • 1tspyellow mustard
   • 1tbspfinely chopped dill pickles
   • 4dill pickle chips, to serve

   Method

   1. Pre-heat a cast iron skillet or carbon-steel pan over high heat for 5–7 min until a drop of water vaporises on contact. 2. Loosely form four cold 100 g balls — do not pack them. Lay a pile of paper-thin onions in the pan, then a ball on top of each pile. 3. Smash with a sturdy spatula and a press for a full 10 seconds, until each patty is ~12 cm wide and lacy at the edges. Salt generously. 4. Cook undisturbed for 90 seconds until the underside is mahogany and the edges look crisp. 5. Flip with a sharp metal scraper, taking every bit of crust with you. Top each patty with cheese and cook 45 seconds more. 6. Meanwhile, butter and toast the buns cut-side down until deep golden, then spread with a sauce of Kewpie, ketchup, mustard and chopped pickles. 7. Stack two patties per bun, add pickle chips, close, press lightly and eat immediately.