We choose this year’s winner of Houston’s Best Burger.
Best Burger: The Toasted Coconut
Burger fanatic? This Montrose tiki bar and kitchen is your next stop. An industry favorite, the totally messy, totally worth it flavor bomb features a duo of juice-dripping patties, melty American cheese, fiery chili aioli, housemade pickles and a buttery soft Hawaiian bun. Go wild with add-ons from avocado and yolky farm egg to salty-sweet bacon jam, and don’t skip the Sichuan-spiced tater tots or cheeky umbrella cocktails.
Melty raclette. Velvety onion fondue. Crispy watercress. And earthy black truffle. That’s what you’re in for when you order the signature Black Truffle Wagyu Steak Burger at The Thompson Hotel’s sophisticated French spot. With a sidecar of golden duck fat fries and a bright, simple salad, it’s best washed down with a bold red or opulent olive brine martini (whether or not you add the caviar bump is up to you).
Nothing says summer quite like a good burger! This time we are teaching you how to make a perfect smash burger and there’s one secret that is life-changing. If it’s a summer BBQ with friends, a family reunion or a 4th of July bash, this smash burger recipe is the way to go!
Look, I don’t know why smashing a burger, literally the one thing you should NEVER do to meat totally works in this recipe, but it does. Ok, I do actually know why, it’s because it caramelizes every single piece of that patty thus making for more flavor in each bite, but the point is, it doesn’t make sense and so therefore you should absolutely eat it.
It’s kind of like that crazy wedge salad story; it’s simple and therefore it’s the beeeeeest!
Cade and I discovered smash burgers when we were in our first few years of marriage and I think it’s actually what kind of turned me from burger hater to burger enjoyer and now lover. I still loooove a crispy chicken sandwich, don’t you get me wrong, but a smash burger will always make my mouth water.
They are juicy, buttery, and have those crispy edges that are the star of this burger show. And the best thing about this is that smash burgers are simple and cook so fast…exactly what you want to feed the fam on a busy summer weeknight or to feed a crowd for your 4th of July festivities!
Ingredients for Smash Burgers
There’s nothing crazy going on with these ingredients. The crazy comes in the cooking technique, so your ingredient list looks like this:
Burger Patties
Canola Oil
Burger Buns: Potato buns taste great or brioche buns also work well.
Butter
Ground Beef (60/40): this probably sounds crazy, but just ask your butcher and trust me on this one…all the flavor comes in the higher fat content!
Salt
Pepper
Toppings
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below.
How to Make a Smash Burger
We have a post already on the secrets to the best hamburger, which is amazing and true, but throw all those rules out the window for these smash burgers. Your first step in making these burgers is going to be at the grocery store. As your butcher for a pound of ground beef that is 60% ground chuck and 40% ground brisket (or sirloin). It’s going to blow your mind how much flavor that combination of beef has!
Divide the pound of ground beef into loose 2″ balls and set them in the freezer on plate for 15 minutes.
PRO TIP: The less you handle the meat, the better. Keep the balls loose with jagged edges so that there are more edge area to get crispy and delicious!
Toast the buns on a cast iron skillet and set aside.
Pull the meat out of the freezer and flatten each ball on the skillet using a metal spatula or a burger press and season one side with salt and pepper.
PRO TIP: High heat at first so that you instantly char that meat but then turn it down a little to medium so you don’t burn the meat.
Place the burgers onto the cast iron pan seasoned side down and then season the other side.
Cook until it caramelizes and flip. Add the cheese slices.
Cover the pan with a lid to melt the cheese.
Place your burgers on the toasted hamburger buns and add your toppings.
All of the instructions in full detail can be found in the recipe card down below.
Why Do You Put the Meat in the Freezer Before Cooking?
This is the secret to making the smash burgers perfectly! With the meat nice and cold, it cooks a little slower while still letting the edges get caramelized and crispy. If the meat is too warm, it cooks too fast and dries out while the edges caramelize.
What to Eat with a Smash Burger
We love all the typical burger sides with this recipe. These are a few of our favorites:
Any of those recipes with be great with these burger, but you can seriously do any side you want! Just some simple french fries make my heart the happiest!
Variations on a Smash Burger
Feel free to top your burgers any way that you want. Here are a few ideas:
Grilled Onions
Jalapenos
Bacon
Avocado
Sauteed Mushrooms
I want to know what you choose to top your burger!
Can I Make this Recipe on the Grill?
Yes! If you want that smoky grilled flavor, then absolutely grill them up! You’ll want to put a griddle on top of the grilling grates so you can really smash the burgers down. Or if you have a Blackstone, that works awesome too!
When you think of burgers, you think summer, and you should, but with a smash burger, you can make it all year round right on the stove top. They are juicy and crispy and the best burger I’ve had in ages! I’m dying for you to try it!
More Burger Recipes:
Servings: 4burgers
Prep Time: 5 minutesmins
Cook Time: 15 minutesmins
Total Time: 20 minutesmins
Description
Nothing says summer quite like a good burger! This time we are teaching you how to make a perfect smash burger and there’s one secret that is life-changing.
Prevent your screen from going dark
Form ¼ pound beef into loose 2″ balls. Set aside in the freezer on a plate.
1 Pound Ground Beef Blend
Brush a 12-inch cast iron skillet with oil and set it over medium heat until shimmering.
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
Add the butter to the pan and place the buns, cut side down on the hot skillet. Cook just until the buns are nicely toasted and set the buns aside.
2 Tablespoons Butter, 4 Potato Burger Buns
Remove the meat from the freezer and season with salt and pepper. Place in a preheat, slightly oiled cast iron skillet and press down firmly and evenly to flatten the meat. Generously season the other side of the patty with salt & pepper.
Salt and Pepper
Cook until caramelization begins, about 1 minute. Flip and add the cheese.
American Cheese
Place a large lid over the burgers the last 30 seconds to melt the cheese. If you want the burgers more done wait a minute before adding the cheese.
Spread your burger sauce and lettuce over the bottom bun. Top with 1-2 patties and pickles and onion before enjoying.
Killer Burger Sauce, Lettuce, Pickles, White Onion
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THURSDAY, Oct. 19, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Think twice about ordering that double cheeseburger, salami on rye or juicy T-bone.
Just two servings of red meat a week — processed or unprocessed — can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by 62%, according to a new study.
“A modest but statistically significant increase in risk was seen with even two servings of red meat per week, and risk continued to increase with higher intakes,” said lead author Xiao Gu, a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. “Our findings suggest that replacing red meat with healthy plant-based protein sources, such as nuts and legumes, or modest intakes of dairy foods, would reduce the risk of diabetes.”
The study can’t prove that eating red meat causes type 2 diabetes, but there appears to be a link.
And a serving of meat is likely smaller than you might suspect.
One serving of unprocessed red meat is about 3 ounces of pork, beef or lamb; a serving of processed red meat is about 1 ounce of bacon or 2 ounces of hot dog, sausage, salami, bologna or other processed red meats, Gu said. Red meat is usually high in saturated fat and low in polyunsaturated fat, Gu said.
“Studies have shown that saturated fat can reduce beta cell function and insulin sensitivity, which results in type 2 diabetes,” he explained.
“Red meat also has a high content of heme iron, which increases oxidative stress and insulin resistance and impairs beta cell function through its by-product of nitric oxide compounds,” Gu said. “For processed red meats, there is also a high content of nitrates and their byproducts, which promote cell dysfunction and insulin resistance.”
For the study, Gu and his colleagues collected data on nearly 217,000 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.
Their diets were assessed with food questionnaires for up to 36 years. During this time, more than 22,000 participants developed type 2 diabetes.
People who ate the most red meat had a 62% higher risk for type 2 diabetes, compared with those who ate the least.
