Smash Burger

Ingredients

• 400 g beef mince, 20% fat
• salt, for seasoning
• black pepper
• 4 thin slices of cheddar
• 2 burger buns, split
• 20 g butter, softened
• sliced dill pickles
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 red onion, sliced paper-thin

Method

1. Ball the meat

   Divide the mince into four loose balls and handle them as little as possible. Do not season yet — salt on the surface early draws out water and makes the meat springy instead of tender.

2. Toast the buns

   Butter the cut faces and toast them in a dry pan until golden. A sealed face is what keeps the bottom bun from going to pulp under the juices.

   2 min

3. Smash

   Get a heavy pan or flat plate ripping hot. Lay a ball down, flatten it hard with a stiff spatula into a thin patty, and season the top generously. Press once and once only; pressing again squeezes out the fat you just made a crust with.

   2 min

4. Flip and melt

   When the edges are lacy and dark, scrape underneath to keep the crust attached, flip, and lay cheese on immediately. Thirty seconds more is plenty — the patty is thin and already cooked.

   1 min

5. Build

   Mix the mayonnaise and ketchup, spread on both buns, then stack two patties per burger with pickles and raw onion. Eat straight away, standing up if necessary.