Beyond Meat Smash Burgers

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I’ve made a lot of smash burgers on my grill. I should say, beef smash burgers. That’s my go-to thing. Easy, fast, and delicious. Sometimes I ‘stray’ a bit and make chicken or turkey smash burgers. This time, I ‘strayed’ a lot and made Beyond Meat smash burgers. Nothing ‘meat’ going on here. This was my first time making non-meat burgers. I have to say, I was quite pleasantly surprised. The flavors are quite close to those of beef patties. Ditto the texture. I even got some classic smash burger char along the edges. Topped with my favorite diner-style toppings, these were good burgers!

A Little Different

The process for making Beyond Meat smash burgers is mostly the same as I use when making beef smash burgers. The major differences are that first, you don’t defrost the patties. You cook them from frozen. That means you can’t really season them up front. The seasoning would just bounce off. You have to get them on the hot griddle for a few minutes to soften them up. Then you can season them. The second big difference is the smashing. I tend to smash the heck out of my beef patties to get them super thin. You can’t do that as much with these or they’ll crack or break. You can smash them, but do it slowly and gently. And last, you don’t have to worry about the patties ‘swelling’ in the center like beef does. They’ll stay flat the entire time. That’s rather nice, I have to say!

Classic Tastes

Once you’ve made a Beyond Meat smash burger or two you’ll find them to be as easy to make as the non-smash ones. And just like making the beef version. And like any other burgers, they’re open to all sorts of toppings. Sometimes I go crazy. Sometimes I go classic. This Beyond Meat smash burger is more classic. And it’s definitely good!

The equipment

Here’s the equipment I use. You can get by using two cast iron skillets. Use a larger skillet for cooking the burgers, and a smaller one to smash the burgers and keep them flat. Since I’m a cooking gadget collector, I prefer to use a few more tools.

The griddle

First, a griddle. You can buy griddles that sit on top of your grill grates or ones that replace them. Just about every grill I have has a griddle on it. I use them for a lot of things, not just smash burgers. You want one that can be placed over the hottest part of your grill so it gets screaming hot.

A burger press

Next, you need a burger press. You can use a heavy cast iron skillet, like I mentioned. Or get a burger press. For easy cleanup I wrap mine in foil first. When I’m done, just peel off the foil and toss. Super easy. Get a press that’s at least big enough to cover two burgers. You don’t have to keep these Beyond Meat burgers smashed down to prevent them from rising in the middle like beef does. The patties stay flat throughout the cooking process.

A dome

Next up, a dome. While not 100% required, it does speed the time it takes to melt the cheese and it does it in a nice even fashion. In my opinion you don’t really need one if you’re using a super melty cheese, such as American, but for thicker slices like say a deli pepper jack, you want the cheese to melt before you over-cook the burger and that’s where a dome comes in handy.

Cleaning time!

Lastly, you need something to clean your griddle. I like to clean mine when I’m done cooking, but you can do it at the start instead. I use one of these pad holders with a griddle cleaning pad. Then I add a bit of water to my griddle then use the pad (connected to the holder) to scrub off any big chunks and get up some of the grease. I don’t go crazy with it, I always heat the heck out of my griddle before cooking, but I get the worst. The long arm on the pad holder makes it perfect for scrubbing a hot griddle, too.

Also try my taco smash burgers!