If you’re like me, you’re heading into a long weekend wondering what should be on your menu.

Today we’re going to talk about burgers — the quintessential cookout food and perfect way to kick off the summer. I only do burgers one way at my house, and you should give them a go this weekend, too.

I use a flat top griddle on my deck, but anyone can make this recipe — even if you don’t have any outdoor space at all.

My guess is you have almost everything you need for this cook in your fridge or pantry already. And it is not an exaggeration to say that this meal is one of the easiest to prep — and easiest on the wallet.

Let’s smash.

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Pre-cook instructions

Let’s get straight to the point.

Your grocery list

• Cooking oil

• 80-20 ground beef

• Kosher salt

• Coarse ground pepper

• Yellow mustard

• American cheese

• Large white onions

• Your preferred burger toppings

• Buns (I like Martin’s Potato Buns)

Your equipment list

You’ll need a large, flat surface for this cook. I use my Blackstone griddle. You could use a cast iron pan on your stove top or your grill, or a griddle insert on your stove top or grill. If you make pancakes on it, you can make smash burgers on it.

Other things you’ll need:

• A large spatula

• A grill press (or a second spatula — more on that below)

How to prep

• Thinly slice onions, and toss in a bowl with oil and kosher salt

• Form ground beef into balls approximately 1/3 pound in size

The cook itself

1. Heat a cooking surface over medium-low heat for your onions. For me, this is one burner of my griddle, but it can be any pan for you.

2. Add onions, stirring somewhat regularly until they caramelize. If you are under a time crunch, you can add some water to the cook surface and cover to help speed up the process.

3. Remove onions when they‘re caramelized to your preference. Save the pan.

4. Heat a cooking surface over medium-high heat and lightly coat with oil. This is another burner on my griddle, but it can be any pan for you.

5. Add balls of ground beef, wait about 20 seconds, then flip. This will help prevent sticking when you smash.

   

6. Apply pressure to the browned section of the ground beef to smash as thinly as possible. If you don’t have a burger press, use the flat portion of your large spatula, and press down on it with the handle of another spatula for maximum pressure. The more smashed the better.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

8. Squirt yellow mustard on top of every burger.

   

9. After 2-3 minutes, flip so that the burger cooks in the mustard for another 2-3 minutes.

10. Immediately top with American cheese; the burgers will be done once its melted.

    

11. Place buns face down on the surface you cooked your onions on to toast.

12. Assemble burger with your preferred toppings.

    

Picture of the week

I had some buddies over last weekend and finished some wings with Kosmos Nashville Hot Chicken Wing Dust. They were too hot for most of them, but if you’re up for the challenge…

Thanks for reading! Feel free to share, and thanks for subscribing if you haven’t already. Have a great weekend!

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