Mouth wide open. Leaning over the plate. Plenty of napkins. That’s how you eat these all-American cowboy smash burgers. We aren’t messing around here. We’re loading up on the toppings and flavor. The heck with the sides, the star of the show is sitting on a bun and it’s screaming out your name, so get to it!
It’s Really Easy
The ingredient list for these all-American cowboy smash burgers may seem longer than your average burgers but they aren’t that complicated. One thing I like to do is bake up a big batch of bacon and freeze it. That makes things like these burgers so much easier to make. You can use pre-cooked bacon too. The rest is pretty easy. And fun. And mighty tasty.
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 only smash one at a time, but if you want to keep them flat, you want to rest the press on top so bigger (and heavier) is better. Plus I’ve found that a bigger, heavier press tends to stay on the burgers whereas a smaller, lighter one is hard to keep centered on the burgers, specially if you have a bunch of them cooking at once.
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!
All-American Cowboy Smash Burgers
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon cooked
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 4 slices cheddar cheese
- 4 hamburger buns
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 cup iceberg lettuce shredded
- 8 slices tomato
- ½ cup French fried onions
- 4 tablespoons your favorite BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Fire up your grill for direct medium-high heat cooking. You can also use an outdoor or indoor griddle or a large skillet on a stove.
- In a large bowl combine beef, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and shredded cheddar cheese.
- Form into four patties.
- Place the patties on grill. Smash down with a spatula or grill press.
- Grill the burgers for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Add the remaining cheese and cook until melted.
- Remove from the grill.
- Toast the buns as desired.
- Slather the bun bottoms with the mayonnaise.
- Add a burger patty to the bun bottoms
- Add the bacon, lettuce, tomato and fried onions.
- Slather bun tops with the BBQ sauce.
- Serve with plenty of napkins.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
