1. Accessories
The press
To achieve a perfectly thin dumpling, a signature element of burger smash, you absolutely need a burger press. It is also possible to use a spatula or a bacon press to crush your patty well.
Cuisinart Cast Iron Burger Press – $22.04
Image credit: Amazon
The griddle
An essential accessory for cooking meatballs, the griddle should not be neglected. We don’t want the fat to flow into the grill!
Note that to help you, you can always use a baking sheet.
Of course, the plancha or griddle is only for barbecuing food. If you do your thing smash burgers in the pan, you can put them away.
Small Griddle baking sheet – $141.40 reduced by $120.70
Image credit: Amazon
2. Ingredients
According to the owner and chef of the successful Chez Simon cantine urbaine, Simon Jodoin-Bouchard, the fewer ingredients, the better. The meat must be the star of the dish. We ditch the gourmet burgers and simplify as much as possible: cheese, sauce and/or condiments, a few caramelized onions, pickles and that’s it.
A slice of bacon is of course always welcome!
Finally, we choose a very soft bread and a “fat enough” meat to ensure a very juicy meatball.
To note
- You can season your dumplings to your liking. In his Smash Burger recipe, Simon chose only salt and pepper when cooking.
- The onions are caramelized before cooking the meatballs and the meatballs are cooked on a grill without cleaning it to absorb the flavors. The same for bacon, it is cooked before the meatballs. Yum!
On the same topic:
3. Temperature and time
It is important to have a plancha or a frying pan hot, very hot. Chef Simon Jodoin-Bouchard suggests a temperature of around 260°C (500°F). Be sure to take the time to preheat and oil your appliances before you start cooking.
Form balls of approx. 125g (max.). To illustrate it all, the chef suggests imitating the size of a golf ball.
Last step we place the balls on the surface and press them for about 20 seconds each. When the first side of your meatballs are caramelized, flip them over and it’s time to add the cheese.
Image credit: Adobe Stock
Enjoy your food!
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