Smashburgers

diner quality at home

[Homemade hamburger]({{ site.url }}/2017/03/12/homemade-hamburgers/) step 2 - the perfect meat!

Smashburger

Of course, to make the perfect burger, you must grind your own meat. Here’s how I did it!

Ingredients

  • 3lbs steak (I used chuck steak, which was cheap and well marbled)
  • seasonings
    • salt
    • pepper

Equipment

  • meat grinder attachment for stand mixer (freeze the parts before using for best results)
  • sturdy spatula
  • heavy skillet

Process

  1. Cut the meat into 1 to 2 inch chunks. Make sure it is well chilled before grinding. Smashburger
  2. Using meat grinder, grind the meat. I used the coarse setting for this one. Smashburger
  3. Very gently shape the meat into pucks 2 inches by 2.5 inches, about 4-6 oz each.
  4. Heat skillet on high heat until nearly smoking.
  5. Liberally salt and pepper one side of the pucks, then place seasoned side down in the skillet, about 4 at a time.
  6. Very quickly, use the spatula to smash the puck as thin as possible, about 4-6 inches wide
  7. Cook for a couple minutes until done on first side. Season the other side with more salt and pepper.
  8. Flip the burgers, scraping up all the browned bits from the pan. Add cheese, and cook remaining side for about a minute.

I like to serve these two at a time on delicious brioche burger buns!

Notes

  • 2017-03-11 - Very good! I would try it again with a finer grind and try to press them harder. Also, I was tempted to overcook them, so more practice is needed to get them done but not burned.