Mastering the Flat-Top: Professional Burger Methods

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

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

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash burgers on this thing that individuals still talk about. Smashing the beef thin takes full advantage of contact with the hot steel, triggering the Maillard reaction, the chemical procedure that creates that deep, savory, browned taste we all yearn for.

Your first hamburger and your fourth get the same unbelievable edge-to-edge crust without the temperature level dropping. I 'd know my household has actually remained in the steel company for over 50 years at our shop in Hanover, MA. I understand this material, and I constructed these frying pans particularly to solve the heat retention issue that cast iron can't.

How to Master the Flat-Top: Professional Burger Skills

Let it pre-heat for 10-15 minutes till it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the very same principle behind our pizza steels load the steel with heat, and it does the work for you.

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

Utilize a bench scraper or stiff spatula to get under the patty, ensuring you scrape up all the crispy, browned bits. Flip it over. Immediately place a slice of cheese on the turned patty. 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.

Delicious Dinner Ideas for Grilling in 2026

Cheese melting completely on the Mini Frying pan Cast iron is the standard option for smashburgers, and it works. I used cast iron for many years. After testing both side-by-side for over a years, I changed to steel. And look, I'm not simply a guy with a viewpoint. My household has run because the 1960s.

I comprehend how it shops and transfers heat in a manner many people never think of. That knowledge is exactly what led me to create the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I designed the Skinny Frying pan particularly for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the difference: That indicates it recuperates temperature much faster between burgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

You get the same screaming-hot crust on your first hamburger and your 4th. Simply cook, scrape, wipe clean. I've checked cast iron, stainless steel, and every griddle on the market.

Preheat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your burgers right on the steel. You get the same incredible crust with the added advantage of outdoor cooking and that subtle smoky taste from the grill.

Comparing Flat-Top vs Outdoor Grill Techniques

They walk up anticipating regular grilled hamburgers and rather they see me smashing patties on a slab of American-made steel on the grill. Perfect smash hamburgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outdoor grill I created each of these for a particular usage case.

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