Advanced Flat-Top Strategies for 2026 Summer Grilling

I make smashburgers on steel often. They are bad ass and when you attempt it this method, you'll never return. I invented the Baking Steel back in 2012 for pizza but honestly, smashburgers may be the important things I prepare on steel more than anything else these days. The work is getting your hamburger bar together: chopped pickles, onions, cheese, special sauce.

Get your frying pan or steel ripping hot. You need to work quick. We're preparing these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you want it screaming hot for that Maillard reaction, the sear that makes smashburgers famous. I like to smash for friends. Most of the time, they have actually currently had our Baking Steel pizza, and I like to mix up the menu.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash hamburgers on this thing that people still talk about. Smashing the beef thin optimizes contact with the hot steel, activating the Maillard reaction, the chemical process that develops that deep, tasty, browned taste we all yearn for.

Your very first hamburger and your 4th get the same incredible edge-to-edge crust without the temperature level dropping. I 'd understand my household has been in the steel company for over 50 years at our store in Hanover, MA. I comprehend this product, and I constructed these frying pans specifically to resolve the heat retention issue that cast iron can't.

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Let it preheat for 10-15 minutes up until it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the exact same principle behind our pizza steels load the steel with heat, and it does the work for you.

Season the smashed patties kindly with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Cook for 60-90 seconds.

Use a bench scraper or stiff spatula to get under the patty, guaranteeing you scrape up all the crispy, browned bits. Turn it over. Instantly place a piece of cheese on the flipped patty. Prepare for another 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese. Briefly toast your buns on a cooler part of the griddle for 15-20 seconds.

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Cheese melting perfectly on the Mini Frying pan Cast iron is the conventional option for smashburgers, and it works. After evaluating both side-by-side for over a years, I changed to steel.

I understand how it stores and transfers heat in a method a lot of individuals never ever believe about. Here's the distinction: That implies it recovers temperature quicker between hamburgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

You get the exact same screaming-hot crust on your very first burger and your 4th. Just cook, scrape, wipe tidy. I've tested cast iron, stainless steel, and every frying pan on the market.

Preheat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your burgers right on the steel. You get the very same extraordinary crust with the added advantage of outside cooking and that subtle smoky taste from the grill.

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They stroll up expecting regular grilled burgers and rather they see me smashing patties on a slab of American-made steel on the grill. Perfect smash burgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outdoor grill I designed each of these for a particular usage case.

It fits on a single burner and is perfect for households or burger night with good friends. Same heat retention, smaller sized footprint. Use it in the oven for pizza, or take it outside and location it on your grill for smashburgers, steaks, and more.