PrintOn Smashburger and Smashed Burgers in General
Word from Nancy Luna, the Fast Food Maven, is that Smashburger, a Denver-based burger chain started by the founder of Quiznos, has raised $15 million to expand the concept nationally with as many as 500 outlets.
And what's the concept? From the Smashburger site: "The beef had to be fresh-never-frozen, smashed on the grill to seal in all the beefy flavor, and cooked to juicy perfection."
Luna also notes that Smashburger seems to be all about giving the customer freedom to choose and then makes the comparison to The Counter, whose famously long list of options earned it raves from Oprah and her buddy Gayle King.
Ed Levine, who sits across from me here in the AHT–Serious Eats office, is now asking me, "Isn't smashing the patty against everything that burger purists hold dear?"
To which I reply: SCREW THE PURISTS!
But, Ed asks, don't all the serious chefs doing burgers tell you to handle the meat as little as possible and to avoid disturbing it while it's on the grill?
To which I say, I've never had a chef-driven burger anywhere near as good as a lot of the mom-and-pop places in Kansas, where I grew up. And all my favorite places there practice the art of the on-grill smash, starting with a four-ounce-or-so ball of fresh beef, letting it cook a bit on a hot, hot griddle, and then giving it a good WHACK with the back of a spatula.
In Crust We Trust
Does some juice get lost in the process? A bit, sure, I'll give you that.
But if you're doing it right and not cooking those burgers to death, you can still get a good amount of juice and still manage to get a little color in the interior of the patty.
The technique leads to a crisp-crunchy crust with an artfully irregular shape, and best of all, creates more surface area for the Maillard reaction to occur. I mean, look at the photos of a good Bobo's Drive-In (Topeka, Kansas) burger above. Look at that patty! And look at the great browning on this burger from Town Topic (Kansas City, Missouri):
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of a lot of chef-driven burgers or the pub-style softballs of meat that seem to be de rigueur in most of the celebrated burger haunts in New York City, where I live. Give me a thin, fast food–style smashed-down burger with a great salty crust any day.
I'd love to try the burger from this Smashburger place. (Though, I guess that's not saying much, because I love to try burgers from whatever place is new to me.)
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13 Comments:
I live in Denver, and we just tried Smashburger for the first time a few weeks ago. I have to say - it was pretty tasty! Juicy, hot, and flavorful. However, it's still no match for the "baby buck burgers" at Denver' CityGrille!
GoldenEel at 2:22PM on 05/07/08
I'm a huge fan of The Counter, so I hope I get a Smashburger near me sometime soon. I love a good competition.
natalie2040 at 3:47PM on 05/07/08
Doesn't it depend on what kind of smashing we're talking about? I'm absolutely fine with places that start with a ball of ground beef and smash it on the grill to flatten it, and then flipping it (once)... you get a nice crust that way.
however, places that lean on the burger throughout the grilling process till they're dry... that's awful.
SoundBitesNYC at 6:32PM on 05/07/08
Johnny Rockets smashes their beef too, and they also have a nice crust. It seems the timing of the smash is crucial to the tastiness -- smash when still mostly raw!
mschlock at 6:52PM on 05/07/08
@SoundBitesNYC: So true. As this Wendy's training video shows.
@mschlock: Also true, I think!
Adam Kuban at 7:26PM on 05/07/08
I have to agree that I am pro-smashing. Both in my cooking methods that I utilize at home, as well as eating out. I agree that timing is crucial, as is a well-seasoned grill. You can have a crispy outside and a juicy (not undercooked or raw) inside. Some of my favorites are Winstead's steakburgers in Kansas City and Sid's Diner in El Reno, Oklahoma. In fact, I believe that that the Oklahoma fried onion burger native to the El Reno area (there are several other tasty versions besides Sid's) are the ultimate smashed burger experience. If you get a chance, stop in one and grab a seat behind the grill and watch the cooking technique. For the most part it can be recreated at home.
takhomasak at 7:48PM on 05/07/08
I have to agree that I am pro-smashing. Both in my cooking methods that I utilize at home, as well as eating out. I agree that timing is crucial, as is a well-seasoned grill. You can have a crispy outside and a juicy (not undercooked or raw) inside. Some of my favorites are Winstead's steakburgers in Kansas City and Sid's Diner in El Reno, Oklahoma. In fact, I believe that that the Oklahoma fried onion burger native to the El Reno area (there are several other tasty versions besides Sid's) are the ultimate smashed burger experience. If you get a chance, stop in one and grab a seat behind the grill and watch the cooking technique. For the most part it can be recreated at home. BTW the Smashburger promo photo looks nothing like what I am describing.
takhomasak at 7:50PM on 05/07/08
The top picture resembles a Culver's butterburger, which if I remember correctly are also fresh and never frozen. Culver's, at least in the midwest, puts the other major fast food places to shame.
yanyodel at 8:26PM on 05/07/08
Count me out of the "smashing" fan club. In my humble opinion, the primary reason to "smash" a burger is to cook it quicker. There is no doubt that a lot of juice is lost, it's common sense. If you have a hot grill you don't have to worry about a "crust".
I also don't like the fact that a company that knows how to put together a good sandwich is behind this burger enterprise. I plan on being a burger "king" myself someday (in a few years, I'm too busy selling subs for their rival), and too many good concepts are coming along. I hope they don't make it for purely selfish reasons.
tjmile1 at 8:46PM on 05/07/08
White Manna in Hackensack uses the smash tecnique, and nobody complains about their burgers.
zaelic at 4:19AM on 05/08/08
There is no best way of cooking burgers. Each method has its own merit and its a matter of prefference. Smashing burgers might seem to be against everything we know to achieve a fluffy and juicy burger, but who says that it has to feel like that all the time? At my restaurant I serve burgers using both methods and each method yields a different kind of burger. I love the smashed burgers for all classic diner style burgers, however I preffer gently hand formed patties for gourmet burgers (not going to be smashing kobe beef on the grill). Smashing burgers on the contrary is the best way to hide beef imperfections as it has a larger crisp surface area that tend to absorb most of the seasonings as well as cooking it more thouroughly. The quick searing by the smashing action might seal some juices, but those juices are trapped inside the patty and not in the meat particles. The extra juice is actually being picked up from the flattop. Try to go for the first burger and see how dry it would be in comparison with the 30th. I think that's one of the reasons why burgers taste better when it gets busy.
Q80 BurgerBelly at 5:35AM on 05/08/08
I get it, but it's not my first choice. I'm thinking that many smashers might like a more well-cooked burger. I prefer a crazy-juicy, rare-ish burger.
A chacun son gout!
Kerosena at 10:49AM on 05/08/08
There is a difference between the smash the raw meatball on the grill to ensure maximum contact with the hot surface versus flipping over a burger that has already cooked on one side and then smashing it. The first method makes a nice crusty outside while the other way just makes for hockey pucks.
ESNY1077 at 12:36PM on 05/08/08