Dreamburger

Before you start

• Prepare your mise en place before the beef ever hits the heat.

  Short-order cooking leaves absolutely no time for chopping once the sear begins. Slice your tomatoes, shred your lettuce, and separate your cheese slices beforehand.

• Form the cold ground chuck into eight equal portions weighing three ounces each.

  Gently roll them into loose spheres. Do not pack the meat tightly; overworking the beef results in a dense, tough burger.

Ingredients

• high quality mayonnaise1/2 cup
• ketchup2 tbsp
• sweet pickle relish1 tbsp
• yellow mustard1/2 tsp
• smoked paprika1/2 tsp
• granulated garlic1/4 tsp
• hot sauce1/4 tsp
• ground chuck1 1/2 lb
• sweet onion1 large
• kosher salt2 tsp
• black pepper1 tsp
• pasteurized process American cheese8 large
• commercial soft hamburger buns4 large
• unsalted butter2 tbsp
• iceberg lettuce1 cup
• beefsteak tomato1 large
• dill pickle chips1/4 cup

Method

1. 01

   Whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, relish, mustard, paprika, garlic, and hot sauce to make the Pink Mayo.

   Refrigerate the sauce to let the flavors meld while you set up the rest of your station.

2. 02

   Toast the buttered buns in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat until golden brown.

   Slather the bottom buns generously with the Pink Mayo and set them aside.

3. 03

   Heat the cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for up to five minutes until it is smoking hot.

   Turn on your exhaust fan. You are replicating a 450-degree commercial flat-top, which requires immense, retained thermal mass.

4. 04

   Place two cold beef pucks into the dry skillet and immediately cover them with a handful of the shaved onions.

   Working in batches prevents crowding. The raw beef must hit dry, smoking iron to trigger the Maillard reaction.

5. 05

   Smash the meat and onions firmly into the iron using a heavy, stiff spatula.

   Press straight down until the patty is a quarter-inch thick. Hold the pressure for a full ten seconds to establish contact, then release and do not touch the meat again.

6. 06

   Season the smashed patties generously with salt and pepper and let them sizzle untouched for ninety seconds.

   You will see the edges turning brown, lacy, and dangerously crisp as the beef fat renders.

7. 07

   Chisel the crust from the pan by aggressively scraping the spatula under the meat at a forty-five-degree angle, then flip.

   This is the most crucial short-order technique: you must violently scrape through the crust to ensure 100 percent of it stays attached to the burger, not the skillet.

8. 08

   Immediately place a slice of American cheese on each patty and cook for one minute.

   The onions are now on the bottom, caramelizing in the rendered beef fat while their ambient steam melts the cheese perfectly.

9. 09

   Stack one patty on top of the other and transfer the double-stack to the dressed bottom bun.

   Top with dill pickles, shredded lettuce, a slice of tomato, and cap with the top bun coated in more Pink Mayo. Take a bite of that lacy crust and creamy cheese, and you will say it out loud: YES, THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE THE DINER ON ROUTE 1.

Notes

• Respect the cheese.

  Do not substitute the pasteurized process American cheese. It contains sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt that allows it to melt into a flawless, glossy blanket without separating into oil and milk solids under high heat.

• Manage the smoke.

  A true smashburger generates a massive amount of smoke as beef fat vaporizes. Disconnect sensitive smoke alarms temporarily and open your windows for cross-ventilation.

• Keep the short-order rhythm.

  If you are cooking for a crowd, you can hold cooked patties in a 200-degree oven on a wire rack. However, the true diner experience dictates handing them off to be eaten the exact moment they leave the pan.