The Art of Cooking a Classic Smashburger

As we sit here at our cooking station, ready to tackle one of America's favorite comfort foods, I'm reminded of my childhood memories growing up. My grandmother would often take me to her friend's old cafe in Hollis, where they served the most delicious burgers. It was there that I first fell in love with the art of cooking a classic smashburger. Today, I'll be sharing my secrets on how to create the perfect burger, just like grandma used to make.

To start, we need one lb of beef. If you're planning to season your burgers ahead of time, make sure to use ground or processed meat and some wax paper. The wax paper is crucial in helping us mash our patties down onto the grill. Some people use a cast iron skillet, but I prefer to use a flat top, as it allows for even heat distribution and a crispy crust on the burger. Before we begin, make sure your grill or flat top is hot, hot, hot! We want that perfect sear on our patties.

Once our grill is ready, let's get started. Lay out those toasted buns, because we're about to assemble some burgers like pros. Add a piece of wax paper on top of each patty, and gently mash it down with your spatula or the back of a spoon. This will help create that perfect caramelized crust on the bottom of our patties. Place our patties onto the grill and let's get cooking! With a sizzle and a pop, we're now cooking burgers like a pro.

The key to making a great smashburger is in the seasoning. Use plenty of salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you like to add some extra flavor to your patties. As we cook our burgers, make sure to keep an eye on them and flip them often to ensure even cooking. We want that perfect pink color in the middle, not a dry, overcooked patty.

As I watch my burgers cook, I'm reminded of the old cafes of yesteryear. The smell of sizzling meat and fresh bread wafting through the air, it's like a warm hug on a cold day. And that's exactly what we're trying to recreate here today – that classic comfort food feeling that only a well-cooked burger can provide.

Now, let's get our burgers assembled! We'll start with the original patty, followed by a slice of cheese, some lettuce, tomato, and finally, our signature smashburger sauce. And there you have it, folks – a juicy, flavorful burger that's sure to satisfy even the biggest appetites.

As I take my first bite, I'm transported back to those childhood memories of eating burgers at grandma's friend's cafe. The flavors meld together in perfect harmony, and I can almost hear the sizzle of the grill and the chatter of the crowd. This, folks, is what it means to be a true burger connoisseur.

And to all our loyal subjects who have been with us for close to 13 years now, thank you! We couldn't do this without your support and encouragement. You've been with us through thick and thin, and we're honored to have such an amazing community of foodies and burger enthusiasts.

Before we wrap up today's episode, I want to take a moment to express our gratitude to all the servicemen and women who keep our country safe. We salute you, and we appreciate your service. And to anyone watching at home, thank you for joining us on this culinary journey. Don't forget to subscribe, share, and hit that notification bell – we can't wait to see you next time!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI have always told you don't Mash that burger when it's on the grill you will lose all the juiciness out of it but folks this is different this is a Smash Burger when you get a hot griddle and a cold piece of meat and you mash that down there caramelization takes place due to the sear and you're locking all them flavors in and all that juice in there double decker Smash Burger with a homemade Brio bun Smash Burgers bring back so many great memories walking in them old cafes and this the aroma you get from that Flat Top Grill that's back there and you just see them mashing that meat back there just the smell of that coming off there takes me back to my childhood when we'd come to town on Saturday and get to get one of them old hamburgers but folks we ain't talking about just a regular Smash Burger we're talking about a double decker Smash Burger with a homemade Brios bun they're a really good bun and they're so easy to make so first of all a cup of warm water now I like to use the rapid rise and we're going to use two packages today now when you put yeast in water and you Stir It Up what are you calling that anybody know I know yes what is it proofing yes ma'am Shan WIS a priz she gets a Smash Burger today so we need to add 3 tablespoons of half and half if you ain't got that you can use whole milk but what helps yeast activate quicker who knows that question I I also know that and what is that Sugar yes sugar and you know what because I've watched Cowboy Kent Rollins videos before yes so get this stirred up and folks we're going to actually give this 10 minutes to proof while we're waiting on that to proof let's go ahead and get us three cups really three and 1/2 cups of allpurpose flour what is like the difference on a Brio bun versus a regular bun well this has a egg in it and I think it gives it a little more fluffiness to it but it's really light and Airy a little bit of salt to that some bakon powder cuz we want it to give a little and it's not b a o n it's b a k i n g I barely put it in there I did give that a little mixing with your hand your whis about 3 tablespoon of butter and I just need you to mix this till we don't see no butter clumps no more just breaking it up just breaking it up in there crumbling it around to make sure it's all mixed well and it needs to be sort of softened butter you don't want to do this with cold butter like you was making a pie crust or something like that so then we just going to make us a whale right here in the middle I went over to the chicken house and seen glattus and the girls one egg right there there in the middle do this here but don't do it in the kitchen I like to go ahead and take my whisk and break that yolk up pretty good look right here look how much that is bubbled I want Shan to get a closeup right in there with it oh that thick yes that is going to make some good Pros bun it is if you've got one of them stand mixers it's got a dough hook on it you can do it in that but we just want to get this all to where it will make a dough Ball but I do like to do it in the house in that stand mixer and go ahead and let it just mix for about 5 minutes on about the second speed of it so we'll have to dump this out if you're doing it by hand and we're going to have to knead it for a little bit when it begins to get a little shaggy if you're doing it by hand that's when you need to get some flour on your hands and let's just take this in here and go to working it together to where it will get into all that dough is picked up off the bottom and it begins to make a ball you want it to be tacky to where it just barely sticks to you and you can see that we don't see any clumps of butter in there we're going to flour us a surface lightly now remember if you're doing this on a stand mixer in the house you don't have to get this dough out and knad it you need to be prepared to do this about 3 hours ahead of time okay so get it to there and you know there's so much bread that I have made on ranches in the dark especially with just a little Old Lantern sitting on choke boox lid and shant too and you know how Bread's going to be by the way it feels and this feels really well it's got that texture to it that I want so when you pick this up and you can feel it it's it's not so dense you know it's going to be light because this is going to rise twice so put this in a greeed bowl cover it with Saran Wrap set it in a warm place and I like to let it go about an hour and a half that stuff will lick the top of that bowl as you can see cuz we made this yesterday ahead of time and you'll see to where it just puffs up so good you need to take that out dump it out onto a flowed surface and then I need you to cut it into six equal pieces take them six equal pieces and I'm just going to show you on this and if it was one of it just ahead of time and then you'll just take them and I need you to roll them around and Dome the middle up a little okay so when you're putting them on a greased cookie sheet and you're going to cover them with Saran wrap but Shen showed me a trick pull that saran wrap out Grease the bottom of it lay it on there let them rise again until they're doubled in size then you can put them in the oven 375 going to take you about 15 to 20 minutes but before you put them in that oven get you one more egg crack it make you an egg wash brush that all over there really good top it with sesame seed poppy seed onion powder garlic powder whatever you want takes them about 15 to 18 minutes to cook I love a sauce on something I think it just adds to whatever you're trying to do it's a great compliment but folks in making this sauce we're going to keep it pretty simple cuz I don't want anything to be overpowering I want you to be able to taste that Smash Burger and the caramelization of that beef from hitting that hot griddle over there mayonnaise yes mayonnaise mayonnaise it's hot out there mustard B 110 did you get that mustard B 110 a little mustard I Del you onion a grater uh-huh but don't think we're going to quit there cuz look here what jumped up what is it jalapeno I ain't used one in like two weeks and I've been having a craving for one so we're going to go ahead and just grate this if you've seen me grate this before I need you to go back and look at our ultimate grilled cheese sandwich on the grill oh my gosh that thing it does make it pretty good yes it does we're going to put this in a a little yeti to keep it cool because folks we need to get the rest of them condiments sliced up because when that meat hits birth over there things happen real quick and we want to have everything ready 80 20 G beef don't be buying 7030 don't be buying 973 80 20 you want that fat ratio there and you want to keep this stuff as cold as possible before you get ready to do it in fact if you want to make these into your little balls and then put them back in the ice box till you get everything ready to go you will be in good shape because we need that fat to be cold when it hits that grill that way it renders down there just right caramelizes on the B and that's what gives it its great flavor we have one lb of beef if you was to season these ahead of time you're going to drag ground or processed meat out you're going to need some wax paper okay because you got to have something to mash these with a lot of people I've seen do it with a cast iron skillet and they'll put a piece of wax paper and mash it but find you something that you can mash it down there okay so I'm going to meet y'all at the fire before these get any warmer and it's time to go to work make sure your grd is hot your flat top whatever you're cooking on make sure that you have toasted them buns because this is going to happen fast it is lay them out there hear that Sizzle that's what we're after wax paper put it right on top and let's give it a mash then we're going to pull this right off her we're going to put her over here give it a mash we going to put them other two out here Bera says bring them on she is ready so we're going to put our original on it yep it doesn't take long and you want to make sure when you just get in there see nothing is sticking here so that's what we're after everybody's seasoned this one here need just a little bit more but do you get that Aroma sham that's coming off there this reminds me of them old cafes so many times guess what time it is time to flip looky there that's what I'm talking about I like to go ahead and set that on there just a minute there's another we're going to set him right there get this and flip loving her job today she is let's give them a little seasoning it day don't take them long on this side so let's try to get things rounded up w I'm thinking I'm back down there to the old Cafe in Hollis when I was about 10 years old only thing is they didn't put no two pieces of meat on my burger but folks we having to get up and film early cuz it's probably already 90° but who don't want a hamburger for breakfast that's why what time it's like 8:30 in the morning it's 8:30 in the morning so look at that M that is so much flavor in there oh oh my gosh that's amazing uhhuh there is so much juice in that burger still oh my gosh make me want to do the old timey hamburger cooking dance let me break into it flip them over here flip them over here some of you out there might be thinking to yourself I've heard Cowboy can't roll and say don't Mash that burger that's on a grill when you got that Bera or your flat top that hot and you mash that meat down there that fat is caramelizing and oo you're not getting a dry burger that heat is making sure everything is seared and it all stays in there oh my gosh for my loyal subjects be you have been with us close to 13 years here brother so that is yours good job Cletus says I get a really big b cuz I'm a big dog Lou can you catch yours good job little Magi we might have enough to go around one more time and there's yours Duke's napping Duke is taking a nap so you never know where he's at we we thank y'all so much for tuning in I I've been wanting to do this recipe for quite some time because I do love a burger and it brought back so many old memories of growing up here but hey we just want to thank y'all from the bottom of our hearts for watching we count on y'all to watch our channel to share the good news with people and tell them hey this is more than just a cooking show this is a show about life we going to make you laugh we going to have you dancing we going to have you just lift it up because folks that's what it's about food brings people together and it brought us to y'all and we appre appreciate each and every one of you we do but it is with pride honor and great privilege that I tip my hat to all our servicemen and women and all the veterans who have kept that old flag of flying over camp we commend you all we do rest of you come on in here I'm pretty sweaty I didn't use no deodorant and I'm going to give you a stinky hug today I am God bless you each and everyone and I want I will see you down the best double-decker Smashburger Trail ever one fell in the dirt uh-huh cutting board was slippery you know I've always told you to not Mash that burger that's not right here we goI have always told you don't Mash that burger when it's on the grill you will lose all the juiciness out of it but folks this is different this is a Smash Burger when you get a hot griddle and a cold piece of meat and you mash that down there caramelization takes place due to the sear and you're locking all them flavors in and all that juice in there double decker Smash Burger with a homemade Brio bun Smash Burgers bring back so many great memories walking in them old cafes and this the aroma you get from that Flat Top Grill that's back there and you just see them mashing that meat back there just the smell of that coming off there takes me back to my childhood when we'd come to town on Saturday and get to get one of them old hamburgers but folks we ain't talking about just a regular Smash Burger we're talking about a double decker Smash Burger with a homemade Brios bun they're a really good bun and they're so easy to make so first of all a cup of warm water now I like to use the rapid rise and we're going to use two packages today now when you put yeast in water and you Stir It Up what are you calling that anybody know I know yes what is it proofing yes ma'am Shan WIS a priz she gets a Smash Burger today so we need to add 3 tablespoons of half and half if you ain't got that you can use whole milk but what helps yeast activate quicker who knows that question I I also know that and what is that Sugar yes sugar and you know what because I've watched Cowboy Kent Rollins videos before yes so get this stirred up and folks we're going to actually give this 10 minutes to proof while we're waiting on that to proof let's go ahead and get us three cups really three and 1/2 cups of allpurpose flour what is like the difference on a Brio bun versus a regular bun well this has a egg in it and I think it gives it a little more fluffiness to it but it's really light and Airy a little bit of salt to that some bakon powder cuz we want it to give a little and it's not b a o n it's b a k i n g I barely put it in there I did give that a little mixing with your hand your whis about 3 tablespoon of butter and I just need you to mix this till we don't see no butter clumps no more just breaking it up just breaking it up in there crumbling it around to make sure it's all mixed well and it needs to be sort of softened butter you don't want to do this with cold butter like you was making a pie crust or something like that so then we just going to make us a whale right here in the middle I went over to the chicken house and seen glattus and the girls one egg right there there in the middle do this here but don't do it in the kitchen I like to go ahead and take my whisk and break that yolk up pretty good look right here look how much that is bubbled I want Shan to get a closeup right in there with it oh that thick yes that is going to make some good Pros bun it is if you've got one of them stand mixers it's got a dough hook on it you can do it in that but we just want to get this all to where it will make a dough Ball but I do like to do it in the house in that stand mixer and go ahead and let it just mix for about 5 minutes on about the second speed of it so we'll have to dump this out if you're doing it by hand and we're going to have to knead it for a little bit when it begins to get a little shaggy if you're doing it by hand that's when you need to get some flour on your hands and let's just take this in here and go to working it together to where it will get into all that dough is picked up off the bottom and it begins to make a ball you want it to be tacky to where it just barely sticks to you and you can see that we don't see any clumps of butter in there we're going to flour us a surface lightly now remember if you're doing this on a stand mixer in the house you don't have to get this dough out and knad it you need to be prepared to do this about 3 hours ahead of time okay so get it to there and you know there's so much bread that I have made on ranches in the dark especially with just a little Old Lantern sitting on choke boox lid and shant too and you know how Bread's going to be by the way it feels and this feels really well it's got that texture to it that I want so when you pick this up and you can feel it it's it's not so dense you know it's going to be light because this is going to rise twice so put this in a greeed bowl cover it with Saran Wrap set it in a warm place and I like to let it go about an hour and a half that stuff will lick the top of that bowl as you can see cuz we made this yesterday ahead of time and you'll see to where it just puffs up so good you need to take that out dump it out onto a flowed surface and then I need you to cut it into six equal pieces take them six equal pieces and I'm just going to show you on this and if it was one of it just ahead of time and then you'll just take them and I need you to roll them around and Dome the middle up a little okay so when you're putting them on a greased cookie sheet and you're going to cover them with Saran wrap but Shen showed me a trick pull that saran wrap out Grease the bottom of it lay it on there let them rise again until they're doubled in size then you can put them in the oven 375 going to take you about 15 to 20 minutes but before you put them in that oven get you one more egg crack it make you an egg wash brush that all over there really good top it with sesame seed poppy seed onion powder garlic powder whatever you want takes them about 15 to 18 minutes to cook I love a sauce on something I think it just adds to whatever you're trying to do it's a great compliment but folks in making this sauce we're going to keep it pretty simple cuz I don't want anything to be overpowering I want you to be able to taste that Smash Burger and the caramelization of that beef from hitting that hot griddle over there mayonnaise yes mayonnaise mayonnaise it's hot out there mustard B 110 did you get that mustard B 110 a little mustard I Del you onion a grater uh-huh but don't think we're going to quit there cuz look here what jumped up what is it jalapeno I ain't used one in like two weeks and I've been having a craving for one so we're going to go ahead and just grate this if you've seen me grate this before I need you to go back and look at our ultimate grilled cheese sandwich on the grill oh my gosh that thing it does make it pretty good yes it does we're going to put this in a a little yeti to keep it cool because folks we need to get the rest of them condiments sliced up because when that meat hits birth over there things happen real quick and we want to have everything ready 80 20 G beef don't be buying 7030 don't be buying 973 80 20 you want that fat ratio there and you want to keep this stuff as cold as possible before you get ready to do it in fact if you want to make these into your little balls and then put them back in the ice box till you get everything ready to go you will be in good shape because we need that fat to be cold when it hits that grill that way it renders down there just right caramelizes on the B and that's what gives it its great flavor we have one lb of beef if you was to season these ahead of time you're going to drag ground or processed meat out you're going to need some wax paper okay because you got to have something to mash these with a lot of people I've seen do it with a cast iron skillet and they'll put a piece of wax paper and mash it but find you something that you can mash it down there okay so I'm going to meet y'all at the fire before these get any warmer and it's time to go to work make sure your grd is hot your flat top whatever you're cooking on make sure that you have toasted them buns because this is going to happen fast it is lay them out there hear that Sizzle that's what we're after wax paper put it right on top and let's give it a mash then we're going to pull this right off her we're going to put her over here give it a mash we going to put them other two out here Bera says bring them on she is ready so we're going to put our original on it yep it doesn't take long and you want to make sure when you just get in there see nothing is sticking here so that's what we're after everybody's seasoned this one here need just a little bit more but do you get that Aroma sham that's coming off there this reminds me of them old cafes so many times guess what time it is time to flip looky there that's what I'm talking about I like to go ahead and set that on there just a minute there's another we're going to set him right there get this and flip loving her job today she is let's give them a little seasoning it day don't take them long on this side so let's try to get things rounded up w I'm thinking I'm back down there to the old Cafe in Hollis when I was about 10 years old only thing is they didn't put no two pieces of meat on my burger but folks we having to get up and film early cuz it's probably already 90° but who don't want a hamburger for breakfast that's why what time it's like 8:30 in the morning it's 8:30 in the morning so look at that M that is so much flavor in there oh oh my gosh that's amazing uhhuh there is so much juice in that burger still oh my gosh make me want to do the old timey hamburger cooking dance let me break into it flip them over here flip them over here some of you out there might be thinking to yourself I've heard Cowboy can't roll and say don't Mash that burger that's on a grill when you got that Bera or your flat top that hot and you mash that meat down there that fat is caramelizing and oo you're not getting a dry burger that heat is making sure everything is seared and it all stays in there oh my gosh for my loyal subjects be you have been with us close to 13 years here brother so that is yours good job Cletus says I get a really big b cuz I'm a big dog Lou can you catch yours good job little Magi we might have enough to go around one more time and there's yours Duke's napping Duke is taking a nap so you never know where he's at we we thank y'all so much for tuning in I I've been wanting to do this recipe for quite some time because I do love a burger and it brought back so many old memories of growing up here but hey we just want to thank y'all from the bottom of our hearts for watching we count on y'all to watch our channel to share the good news with people and tell them hey this is more than just a cooking show this is a show about life we going to make you laugh we going to have you dancing we going to have you just lift it up because folks that's what it's about food brings people together and it brought us to y'all and we appre appreciate each and every one of you we do but it is with pride honor and great privilege that I tip my hat to all our servicemen and women and all the veterans who have kept that old flag of flying over camp we commend you all we do rest of you come on in here I'm pretty sweaty I didn't use no deodorant and I'm going to give you a stinky hug today I am God bless you each and everyone and I want I will see you down the best double-decker Smashburger Trail ever one fell in the dirt uh-huh cutting board was slippery you know I've always told you to not Mash that burger that's not right here we go\n"