The Smash Burger
Two small balls of beef chuck smashed paper-thin onto a screaming-hot pan, scraped up with every bit of brown crust, and stacked with a slice of American cheese melting between them.
A smash burger is a ball of ground beef pressed hard onto a hot griddle or skillet, making a thin patty with crisp, lacy edges (Wikipedia:). Its origin is DISPUTED. Food historian George Motz argues that many of the earliest American hamburgers, sold at fairs and factories, were thin patties pressed into pans for speed; others trace the style to the Depression, when smashing stretched the beef. A widely told story credits Dairy Cheer in Ashland, Kentucky, where a cook in the 1960s reportedly flattened beef with a bean can, and Miner-Dunn in Indiana says it has served smashed burgers since the 1930s.
The style lived for decades at diners and chains such as Steak 'n Shake, then came back through Shake Shack, the Smashburger chain and a wave of 2020s restaurants; Wikipedia says it was often called the "it" burger of the decade. J. Kenji López-Alt's Serious Eats version turns one 4-ounce patty into two 2-ounce patties to get twice the crust.
🇺🇸 This one is American
Two small balls of beef chuck smashed paper-thin onto a screaming-hot pan, scraped up with every bit of brown crust, and stacked with a slice of American cheese melting between them.
🇩🇪 The original
Germany's Frikadellen are pan-fried patties of beef and pork with a soaked roll, onion and parsley, eaten with mustard and potato salad, with no bun. The burger's name points to Hamburg, though how it got there is disputed. See the German Frikadellen (Hamburg-Style Meat Patties) recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
A dry, very hot pan
Smashing the cold beef into an ungreased pan puts every bit of its surface in contact with the steel, which is where the browned flavor comes from.
Two thin patties, not one thick one
Twice the crust, and the cheese melted between them keeps the stack juicy (Serious Eats).
Step by step
- Step 1
Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them in a large stainless-steel skillet over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Spread the bottoms with mayonnaise and mustard and top with lettuce, onion and pickles so they're ready.
- Step 2
Wipe the skillet and heat it over high heat 2 minutes, until very hot. Have a stiff metal spatula and a bench scraper ready.
- Step 3
Put 2 balls of beef in the pan and smash each one flat with the spatula (press on it with a second spatula for more force), until slightly wider than the bun and about 1/4 inch thin. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Cook about 45 seconds, until the edges are deeply browned and the tops are turning pale in spots.
- Step 5
Scrape each patty off the pan with the bench scraper, taking all the crust with it, and flip. Lay a slice of cheese on one patty and stack the other on top. Cook 30 seconds more (the first stack of the day should read 160°F with a thermometer slid in sideways).
- Step 6
Move the stack to a prepared bun, close it and serve. Repeat with the rest, keeping finished burgers under a foil tent.
The Smash Burger
Serves 4 · 4 double cheeseburgers · 25 min total
Burgers
- 1 lb freshly ground beef chuck (about 80% lean), divided into 8 balls of 2 oz each
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 4 slices American cheese
Buns and toppings
- 4 soft hamburger buns
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1/4 onion, sliced paper-thin
- 8 dill pickle chips
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 4 tsp yellow mustard
Method
- Butter the cut sides of the buns and toast them in a large stainless-steel skillet over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes, until golden. Spread the bottoms with mayonnaise and mustard and top with lettuce, onion and pickles so they're ready.
- Wipe the skillet and heat it over high heat 2 minutes, until very hot. Have a stiff metal spatula and a bench scraper ready.
- Put 2 balls of beef in the pan and smash each one flat with the spatula (press on it with a second spatula for more force), until slightly wider than the bun and about 1/4 inch thin. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Cook about 45 seconds, until the edges are deeply browned and the tops are turning pale in spots.
- Scrape each patty off the pan with the bench scraper, taking all the crust with it, and flip. Lay a slice of cheese on one patty and stack the other on top. Cook 30 seconds more (the first stack of the day should read 160°F with a thermometer slid in sideways).
- Move the stack to a prepared bun, close it and serve. Repeat with the rest, keeping finished burgers under a foil tent.
Adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt, "The Ultimate Smash Cheeseburger", Serious Eats (March 31, 2014; updated September 21, 2025). Serious Eats writes it for one burger (4 oz chuck in two 2-oz balls, one slice of cheese, a buttered and toasted soft roll); we multiply by four. The high heat, the 2-minute preheat, the 45-second first side and the bench-scraper flip are Serious Eats'. The amount of butter for the buns, the topping choice and the 30-second second side are ours. Serious Eats. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Use stainless steel or cast iron, not nonstick, which shouldn't be heated empty over high heat.
- Keep the balls cold until they hit the pan; they smash cleaner.
- A sheet of parchment between the beef and the spatula keeps it from sticking during the smash.
- Smash once, right away. Pressing later just squeezes out juice.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Who smashed first. Disputed: Dairy Cheer (1960s, a widely told story), Miner-Dunn (says the 1930s) and George Motz's view that the earliest burgers were already pressed thin (all via Wikipedia).
- Smash only once, early. Documented as the standard advice Wikipedia summarizes.
- Use 70 to 80 percent lean beef. Documented as Wikipedia's summary; Serious Eats calls for freshly ground chuck.
- A smash burger can't be cooked to 160°F without drying out. Folklore: a 1/4-inch patty on a very hot pan gets there in the short cooking time above; check the first stack with a thermometer.
Every other burger
German Frikadellen (Hamburg-Style Meat Patties)
Germany's pan-fried meat patties, made with half beef and half pork, a stale roll soaked in milk, sweated onion and parsley, then fried slowly to a deep brown crust and served with mustard.
Japanese Hambagu (Hamburg Steak with Red Wine Sauce)
Tender oval patties of beef and pork bound with panko, milk and sautéed onion, steamed in red wine and finished with a glossy pan sauce of butter, ketchup and tonkatsu sauce.
The Louis' Lunch Hamburger on Toast (New Haven)
A square patty of ground chuck and sirloin with an onion slice pressed into it, cooked over a hot fire and served the New Haven way: between two slices of white toast with tomato, onion and a sharp cheese sauce, and no ketchup.
The Classic Backyard Grilled Cheeseburger
Thick, juicy patties of 85 percent lean beef with a dent in the center so they grill flat, topped with American cheese and stacked on soft buns with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup and mustard.
The Oklahoma Fried Onion Burger
A small ball of beef smashed thin on a hot skillet with a mound of paper-thin onions pressed into it, flipped so the onions fry and caramelize, then topped with American cheese and a bun steamed right over the onions.
The Juicy Lucy (Minneapolis Cheese-Stuffed Burger)
Two thin beef patties sealed around rounds of American cheese, seared in a cast-iron skillet until the cheese inside turns molten, and served on a potato roll with buttery onions and pickles.
The Wisconsin Butter Burger
Lean ground sirloin enriched with cold butter seasoned with a little soy sauce, seared in a hot skillet and topped with a thick pat of the same butter and a spoonful of soft stewed onions, so the butter melts down into the bun.
The New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger
Thick ground-chuck burgers grilled over a two-level fire, topped with melted cheese and a heap of freshly roasted, peeled and chopped New Mexico green chiles, on soft buns with tomato and lettuce.
The Australian Burger with the Lot
A seasoned beef patty with onion, garlic and parsley, piled into a toasted roll with barbecue sauce, lettuce, cheese, canned beetroot, a pineapple ring, tomato, a fried egg, bacon and red onion.
Vada Pav (Mumbai's Potato Fritter "Burger")
A spiced mashed potato patty dipped in chickpea batter and deep-fried, tucked into a soft white roll with green chutney and a crunchy dry garlic, coconut and peanut chutney.
30-Minute Weeknight Skillet Burgers with Onions and Horseradish Sauce
Garlicky burgers seared in one skillet, then onions browned in the drippings, with a quick sour cream and horseradish sauce, on the table in 30 minutes with no grill.
Double-Double Style Burger, Animal Style, Inspired by In-N-Out
Inspired by, not official: two thin mustard-seared patties with American cheese, deeply caramelized onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce and a pink Thousand Island-style spread on a toasted bun.
Meatballs of the World
Italian-American Meatballs
Big, tender meatballs braised for an hour in red sauce over spaghetti. The one most Americans grew up with.
Pallottine (Abruzzo Meatballs)
Tiny meatballs, smaller than a marble, tossed right through square spaghetti alla chitarra. No bread at all.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
Small, soft meatballs browned in butter, in a cream sauce made from the same pan, with lingonberry jam on the plate.
Danish Frikadeller
Pork meatballs shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter, crusty outside and soft in the middle.
Königsberger Klopse
German meatballs that are never fried: poached, then served in a creamy white sauce with capers.
Spanish Albóndigas in Almond Saffron Sauce
The tapas bar classic: small meatballs in a golden sauce thickened with fried almonds and bread.
Mexican Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
Soft meatballs with rice and fresh mint inside, simmered in a smoky tomato and chipotle broth.
Izgara Köfte (Turkish Grilled Meatballs)
Small, flat meatballs kneaded hard, rested cold, and charred on a hot grill pan.
Lion's Head Meatballs
Big, soft pork meatballs, stirred into a sticky paste, fried to set, then braised in a savory sauce.
Chicken Tsukune
Japan's chicken meatball: kneaded sticky, grilled on skewers, glazed with sweet soy tare, dipped in egg yolk.