Blackstone Smash Burgers
Thin, crispy-edged double smash burgers with onions smashed right into the patty, American cheese and a tangy house sauce.
- Blackstone
- Griddle
- Beef
- Dinner
- 25 min total
- Serves 4
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
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Original recipe serves 4. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
- 1 1/2 lb ground chuck, 80/20, cold, rolled into 8 loose balls
- 1 yellow onion, sliced paper thin
- 8 slices American cheese
- 4 potato buns
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- salt and black pepper, to taste
House sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp yellow mustard
- 2 tbsp dill pickle relish
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Toppings
- dill pickle chips
Gear
- Blackstone griddle
- Burger smasher or stiff wide spatula
- Parchment squares
- Sharp-edged scraper spatula
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Steps
Step 1: Stir the house sauce ingredients together and chill until serving.
Step 2: Heat the Blackstone to high, about 450°F or more. You want it smoking hot on one side and medium on the other.
Step 3: Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them on the medium side 1 to 2 minutes until golden. Set them aside.
Step 4: Put 4 beef balls on the hot side, spaced well apart. Lay a small pile of sliced onion on top of each.
Step 5: Set a square of parchment over a ball and smash it hard with a burger press or stiff spatula until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Hold it 10 seconds. Repeat with the rest. Smash once only, in the first 30 seconds.
Step 6: Season the tops with salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes without touching, until the edges are dark brown and lacy.
Step 7: Scrape under each patty with the edge of the spatula, keeping the crust attached, and flip. The onions are now on the bottom getting caramelized. Lay a slice of cheese on each and cook 1 minute.
Step 8: Stack two patties per bun. Repeat with the remaining 4 balls. Add sauce and pickles and serve right away.
Swaps
- Beef: 80/20 is the sweet spot. Leaner beef sticks and dries out.
- Cheese: Pepper jack or cheddar. American melts best.
- Bun: Martin’s-style potato rolls or plain hamburger buns.
Tips
- Cold beef, hot griddle. The contrast gives you a crust without overcooking the inside.
- Parchment between the press and the beef keeps the meat from sticking to your tool.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
If there’s one burger the Blackstone was born to make, it’s this one. A grill can’t do it; the beef would fall through the grates. A skillet can, but only two at a time. The griddle does eight and laughs about it.
The science is called the Maillard reaction, which is a fancy way of saying “browning makes flavor.” Smashing the ball flat puts as much beef as possible against the hot steel, so you get way more crust than a thick burger. That’s why the smash only works in the first 30 seconds: once the meat starts cooking, pressing it just squeezes the juice out onto the griddle.
Two thin patties beat one thick one every time. And the onions smashed underneath? Free caramelized onions, no extra pan.
HAM out.
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