I think it deserves it's own thread but time will tell. Best burger place recommendations, pics, recipes etc

Anyway, I've been experimenting with smash burgers all weekend and they are fucking delicious. It kind of goes against perceived wisdom on how to make a burger juicy but it really works, and here's why.

https://aht.seriouseats.com/2012/09/the-burger-lab-smashed-burgers-vs-smashing-burgers.html

But why make your own? Because they are stupidly easy and you can make them exactly how you want, perfecting the sauce, finding really good pickles etc. Mainly though, it's because you can make them in about 5 mins and they are stupidly cheap. 

To give a general idea of just how easy it is then this vid helps. It's not quite realtime but it's not far off.




So there are a few main parts to making a burger, and it basically boils down to pan, a smash thing, meat, cheese, bun and condiments. 

PAN

Got to be cast Iron, and big enough to hold two patties. TK Maxx are good for this kind of thing and it'll probably be less than £20. Also, you'll use it all the time because cast iron is ace:

Aldi do a perfectly good one here for £15.

Something like this is great for putting over two gas hobs and it's only £13.

Anything over 10" should be fine but 14" is better. 

And here's how to look after it.





THE MEAT

Don't buy steak mince despite what the butcher says. You want between 20% and %30 fat in it, and this means a cheap cut. Called Chuck steak in America and Braising steak here, it's best to start off simply with this until you turn into a burger mental and start using three different cuts from champagne-fed cows.

Now you're going to have to be nice to your butcher and tell him what it's for and that you need about 20% fat, and then you're going to ask him very nicely if he'll mince it for you. In a good butchers this shouldn't be a problem but bear in mind they'll probably have to clean the mincer afterwards so be nice. Polite but firm is the way forward, until you get to know him. And he might charge you a little extra, but it's still a cheap cut. If he won't do it go to another butcher.

Whatever you do handle it lightly. You almost want it to be falling apart so don't shove it at the bottom of the shopping bag and pile stuff on top of it. There'll be very little patty forming done with a smash burger - do not squish it together until you actually smash it.

THE BUN

From here on in it's a matter of preference so you need to see what you can get hold of. Most supermarkets now do a brioche bun in packs which is fine but I'm not a fan. A good sesame bun is great but they vary a lot in quality so shop around. Most americans would go for a potato roll - Martin's being the definitive version but you'll have trouble getting hold of them in Blighty and I tend to go with these, but any good ones will do. Cheap doesn't always mean bad though so to test a few and see which you prefer.

CHEESE

Start with American cheap cheese - anything that looks orange and comes in those individual square packets. It melts brilliantly. After that you can start experimenting but cheap american-style cheese is probably the best.

SMASH TOOL

Anything that is flat that you can really press down with. I've used the bottoms of other pans but a plasters thing would do. You can buy them now but anything really, just make sure you can really add some force. 

Here's a man doing it with a special thing to give you an idea.



Also, that reminds me you'll need something like in that vid to scrape it off. 


CONDIMENTS

Again, a matter of preference but you should try making at least one burger sauce. Most involve at least mayo and ketchup. This guy makes a good one.



I like mine with raw onion and pickles. Polish delis are great for whole jar pickles you can slice yourself. 
Top Tip - buy some cheap yellow plastic bottled musard (Frenchies is great) and brush some on the patty when you've flipped it over.

GENERAL TIPS

Get a good crust on the meat. If you've watched the videos you'll have a good idea - do what Sam does and don't overwork the beef. 
Season the patties with salt (or your own mix) just after you've flipped them.
Experiment. They're so quick to make you can do loads of combos so get friends/family round.
For smash burgers use two smaller patties, not on big one.
Use cold mince for smash burgers. It'll keep them juicy because of the way the fat melts in a thin burger (see first link).


Here are some additional vids I like.





Finally, this is a great overall vid using all the stuff discussed in this OP.