Smash Burger Recipe UK

Smash burgers have taken over most burger menus in the UK over the last few years, and the appeal is obvious once you've had one done properly, a thin, lace-edged patty with a deep brown crust that a thick, juicy burger never quite manages. The good news is that the whole method is built around a piece of equipment most people already have some version of at home. The bad news is that a lot of home attempts fall flat because the pan they're using isn't actually built for it.

What a ridged griddle actually does to a smash burger

Most smash burger guides assume a flat diner-style griddle, and it's worth being upfront that a ridged surface gives you a genuinely different result, not a worse one, just different. On a flat surface you get one continuous sheet of crust across the whole patty. On a ridged surface like the Pep Round Griddle, the raised ridges make direct, hard contact and char properly, while the channels in between see slightly less contact and stay a touch softer. In practice this means less of an unbroken diner-style crust and more of a striped, deeply caramelised texture, with noticeably crisp edges where the meat has been forced into and around the ridges.

There's an upside to this that's easy to miss. Smashing a fatty patty on a flat surface leaves a lot of rendered fat sitting under the meat, which you then have to smear or wipe away to stop the patty basically shallow-frying in its own grease. On a ridged surface, that fat runs down into the channels and away from the patty as it cooks, so you end up with a burger that's less greasy on the plate, even though it was cooked with just as much fat content in the mince. For a home cook without a dedicated flat-top, that trade-off, slightly less classic crust in exchange for a cleaner result and no grease pooling, is a reasonable one.

The key to making it work is smashing hard enough that the patty is genuinely thin, if it's left too thick the ridges do most of the cooking and the parts hanging between them stay pale and undercooked in comparison. Thin the patty right down and the whole surface gets enough heat to colour properly, ridges and channels both.

What you need

• 400g beef mince, 20% fat content, don't go leaner than this, the fat is doing a lot of the work here

• 4 soft white burger buns, brioche works well but isn't essential

• Sliced cheese, a mild cheddar or a processed cheese slice that melts properly

• Sliced dill pickles

• Sliced white onion, very thin

• Yellow mustard

• Ketchup and mayonnaise, or a burger sauce if you prefer

• Salt and black pepper

• A small amount of neutral oil, vegetable or sunflower

This makes four smaller patties, enough for two burgers with a double patty each, or four single patty burgers if you're feeding more people.

Method

1. Divide the mince into four equal balls, roughly 100g each, and don't handle them any more than necessary. Overworked mince gets tough, so shape them loosely and leave them slightly rough rather than perfectly round.

2. Heat the griddle over a medium-high heat for a couple of minutes before anything goes on. You want it properly hot, a drop of water should sizzle and evaporate almost immediately.

3. Add a very thin layer of oil, just enough to stop sticking, this isn't a shallow fry.

4. Place the mince balls on the griddle with space between each one, then smash immediately using something flat and sturdy, the base of a heavy mug, a fish slice, or a proper burger press if you have one. Press down firmly and hold for a few seconds, harder than feels necessary, you're aiming for a patty no more than half a centimetre thick with ragged, uneven edges. On a ridged surface especially, a patty that's too thick will only colour along the ridge lines, so err on the side of pressing it thinner than you think it needs to be.

5. Season generously with salt and pepper straight away while the surface is still exposed.

6. Add a few slices of onion on top of each patty at this stage, pressing them lightly into the meat. Cooking them on top rather than separately means they caramelise into the patty itself.

7. Cook for around 2 minutes, until the ridge marks have gone properly dark and the edges look crisp, then flip. The patty should release from the griddle easily once it's set, if it's sticking and tearing, give it another 30 seconds. Don't worry if the colour looks striped rather than solid brown, that's just how a ridged surface sears, and it'll still taste right.

8. Add cheese immediately after flipping, so it has time to melt while the second side finishes, another minute or so.

9. Toast the buns on the same griddle for the last minute of cooking, cut side down, they'll pick up some of the rendered fat left behind and toast far better than they would in a toaster.

Building the burger

Spread mustard on the base bun, then mayonnaise and ketchup, or your sauce of choice, on the top. Stack the base bun with a patty, pickles, and a second patty if doubling up, then close with the top bun. Serve immediately, smash burgers don't hold well, the crust softens fast once it's plated.

A few things that make the biggest difference

Don't press more than once. The initial smash does the work, pressing again later just squeezes out juice and makes the patty tougher.

Cook in batches if your griddle isn't big enough for all four at once. Overcrowding drops the surface temperature fast, and a cooler surface is exactly what you're trying to avoid here. Keep cooked patties warm loosely covered while the rest finish.

Let the griddle come back up to temperature between batches. A minute or so with nothing on it is usually enough.

Cleaning up afterwards

The ridges will pick up a fair bit of stuck-on browning from the smash and the onions, this is normal and part of what builds flavour into each batch if you're cooking several rounds. The channels, meanwhile, will hold most of the rendered fat, which is exactly what you want during cooking but means they need a proper wipe afterwards rather than a quick pass. Once you're done, kitchen paper while the griddle's still warm lifts most of it, followed by a wash with a soft sponge, working into the grooves rather than just across the surface. Avoid scouring pads on a non-stick surface, warm water and a bit of patience with the ridges handles it fine.

Once you've got the method down, smash burgers are quicker than most home burger recipes, no waiting for a barbecue to heat up, no worrying about a thick patty being raw in the middle, just a hot flat surface and a couple of minutes a side.

If you fancy trying these at home the Pep Round Griddle Pan is available HERE!