I made a big batch of my homemade pastrami the other day. Sure that meant plenty of Reuben sandwiches. And pastrami and mustard sandwiches. And a pastrami smash burger. This is a meat-lovers extravaganza. There’s no shortage of flavor that’s for sure. Sharp and tangy kraut. Smoky pastrami. And delicious, juicy meat patties. All topped with Swiss cheese and plenty of dressing. Grab the napkins, you’re in for a messy tasty treat!
A Lot Of Flavor.
Once you’ve made a smash burger or two you’ll find them to be as easy to make as the non-smash ones. Before long you’ll be a master at it, making great burgers like a pastrami burger. I like to pile the pastrami and kraut high. And I’ll take plenty of dressing, too. These aren’t supposed to be dainty burgers. The messier, the better.
You don’t have to make your own pastrami to enjoy this burger. Just picked some up at your local deli and enjoy!
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!
Pastrami Smash Burger
Ingredients
For the burgers
- 1 pound ground beef
- kosher salt to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- ½ pound pastrami chopped or sliced
- ½ cup kraut drained
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 4 hamburger buns
- ¼ cup Thousand Island dressing
Instructions
For the burgers
- Fire up your grill for medium-high heat. Place a griddle or a large cast iron pan over the highest heat.
- Season the ground beef with salt and pepper, mix and form into four 4 ounce balls (not patties!).
- Place the balls of beef on the griddle and let cook for one minute. Just let them cook, don’t mess with them.
- Take your press and flatten out the patties. I like to use the point of the press and work my way around the ball first, doing a little section at a time and then finally I press down on the entire patty to flatten it out. You can also just flatten out the ball all at once. At this point I also like to season the patties some more.
- Let the patties cook until you start to notice a little char along the edges. Flip, season again if desired, and continue cooking another minute or so until the other side is charred. The burgers are thin so they will cook very quickly so watch out.
- Top patties with cheese and let cook another 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
- While the patties continue cooking add the pastrami and kraut to the griddle to heat.
- Toast the buns. Remove and slather with dressing.
- Add patties to bottom buns. Top with pastrami and kraut and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
