Nothing beats an old school smash burger, a ball of freshly ground beef grilled and flattened into crispy seared perfection. Top with a salad bar of classics and spoon on your own secret sauce and you’ll have an instant classic!

Yield: 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons horseradish
1-2 tablespoons mustard (any)
1-2 tablespoons green relish
1 pound ground beef
sprinkle salt
lots freshly ground pepper
4 soft burger buns
1 bunch green leaf lettuce
2 large dill pickles (sliced)
1 thinly sliced Red Onion
2 ripe tomatoes
4 slices cheddar cheese

Procedure

Secret Sauce:

Whisk all 4 ingredients together (mayonnaise, horseradish, mustard and green relish) in a small bowl and set aside.

Patties:

Preheat your indoor griddle or a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Season the 4 burger balls with salt and pepper. Drop your burger balls in and quickly sear them on the bottom. Flip your burgers and firmly smash them down redefining their shape. The secret is not to smash so far that you squeeze out vital juice though. Just enough pressure to form the patty is just right. The small seared circle from the first side will keep your burgers from breaking up.

When your burgers are cooked through to your liking, flip to the first side again to finish its cooking and lay on the cheese. While you allow it to melt a bit spread the top and bottom halves of your burger buns with that all-important secret sauce. Transfer your burgers directly to the bottom half of your buns with nothing in between so the bun can soak up the juices. Layer on your salad bar of lettuce, pickles, onion and tomatoes. Stack on the tops and share!

Recipe taken from Chef Michael’s Kitchen

© Chef Michael Smith

Variation

Freestyle Twist: A great burger deserves a great sauce and you can make your “secret” sauce with whatever flavor combination you love. Start with some mayo and try adding and improvising with ketchup, salsa, Worcestershire, soya, mustard or barbeque sauce. And sssshhhhh, don’t tell, it’s a secret!