/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>16156918
You need beef with the right fat ratio, sauce with the right acid balance, and a smoking hot cooking surface. Smash burgers get that ‘bark’ texture from being cooked so hard that the fat renders immediately and becomes the cooking medium for the beef. If you’re patty isn’t giving off a billow of greasy steam when you smash it you’re not hot enough.

>>16156918
If you want to be like the restaurants, use more salt (and some msg)

>>16156971
giving this advice to someone as dumb as op makes me worry he's about to burn down his house.

Heat is probably too low. Probably not enough fat. Probably not using american cheese because you retardedly thought it's cheap so it must be bad. Fucking moron.

>>16156993
I’m not worried. One less fool eating smash burgers. Those things are a blight.

>>16156993
He's right, though. Ghee might help, but you gotta have it very hot and smash it while it's frying it's it's own screaming hot fat.

>>16156971
I used 80/20, I was just thinking about surrounding the patty in a bit of tallow or ghee to help give it flavor, so it looks like I'm on the right track, it does give off that steam but I think I need to add something extra
>>16156991
I use plenty of salt but MSG will help
>>16156993
I always keep a wok lid by me just in case

>>16157008
With a 75/25 meat/fat ratio you’ve got more than enough in the patty. Heat’s the key. And you season the shit out of it obviously.

>>16156993
OP is probably making a burger better than most people as it is.
God forbid someone admits they don't know everything and ask for advice that's a bit more involved than a google search.

>>16157009
For a 4oz patty I put a tablespoon of salt and 1/2 tablespoon of fine black pepper in a bowl. Sift it together so it homogenous. Put you beef ball in there and toss it until it’s consistently coated. You don’t need anymore than that.
Don’t bother with outside fats if you’re using 75/25 either. Make sure your pan is well seasoned. Use stainless or cast iron.

>>16156918
damn that's a good looking burger

>>16157006
I use American cheese but I actually think the American cheese I'm using has too much salt, it's like 17% of your DV in one slice, fucking insanity
>>16157051
seasoned how? I think my main problem is I haven't seasoned the griddle at all, though it is cast iron, the consistency is perfect, I have the process down, I use a lil scoop and throw it on Martin's Potato Rolls, I can have 5 burgers out in a few minutes, I'll get the griddle a bit hotter and try coating the entire burger in seasoning, and throw a bit of tallow or ghee to cook it in bc I've also seen articles saying to use ghee as well

>>16156918
its seems like you got imprinted on fast food burgers and real ones don't quite hit the spot.
i don't know what to tell you to fix that, you might need to go to a hypnotist

ripping hot cast iron?

Ok, you need to salt it before, during, and after cooking. Salt it when it first comes off the grill.

>>16157146
I’ve season my cast iron by doing a base coat with a slow oil bake then just never really cleaning it that thoroughly. I know that sounds kind of gross but as long as you scrape of the surface crud then give it a dry scour all the fats you’ve cooked with permeate the surface and it’s alway ready to go. I don’t even oil it anymore since it starts to weep a little fat once it’s heated.
You got a pic of your griddle?

>>16157232
I can take one in a bit, sure

If you compress all the air pockets out of it, you deserve the shitty hamburger you created.

If you want to make the best hamburgers, form them into a thick patty loosely with your hand. You want to minimize the handling, not maximize it. Cook it over medium heat and don't ever press down on it with anything. Let it rest about 5 minutes and then sit down to a glorious hamburger.

Remember: if you cook a hamburger like shit, you end up with a shitty hamburger.

>>16157009

80/20 is too lean.

>>16157248
okay, so basically, everything points to not enough seasoning/fat, mainly not enough fat, so I might be able to salvage the 80/20 that I already have by using ghee/tallow, noted
>>16157245
that doesn't sound like you're describing a smashburger, just a diner burger
>>16157215
I think I'm going to try coating it like the other anon suggested
>>16157205
I think it's pretty hot but I'll get it hotter next time, unless I hear the meat sizzle and immediately see it start to render I don't think the griddle's hot enough

>>16156918
You are probably using kraft slices, so that's probably the problem.

>>16157271

More of a gourmet burger.

If you want a diner burger, continue to small all the air space out of it where the good juices accumulate.

Montreal steak seasoning.

>>16156918
Use cheapest hamburger you can buy. End of thread. Smash burgers were never meant to be trendy. They were just a way to cook shitty burger meat.

What the hell ck, the guy asked an innocent question and you jump on him like animals.

>>16157357
I've asked a few questions on /ck/ before and I've never gotten a response like this, /ck/ was always the most chill bored on the site, it must've changed since I was last here

>>16157271
>I think it's pretty hot but I'll get it hotter next time, unless I hear the meat sizzle and immediately see it start to render I don't think the griddle's hot enough

buy an infrared thermometer, you can find them for under 20 bucks now. Use it on your cast iron and you will start learning small details about how your pan heats up, the rather big difference in temperature between the middle and sides, and just how much the temperature drops when cold or even room temperature food is added to it.

Then you can start having a good idea how how to treat your pan when it comes to heat and when to add things etc...

>>16157357
thats just /ck/ etiquette

>>16157297
I’m not going to defend the smash burger, because I hate it, but there is a technique to making one for a specific result, that is not like cooking a big burger that ends up juicier and with different flavors. The ‘barking’ of the beef is not something that you can achieve with a slower cooked burger.

>>16157328
You’re half right. That cheap ground beef was the made from the fattier trim which is how the smash technique was realized. It may never have been meant to be trendy but like so many things in culinary practice innovation is born from necessity and sometimes the result is received better than expected or the original intent.
Food science is way more accidental than anyone is willing to admit.

>>16157357
I’ve engaged this guy and given him good, experienced advice despite my disdain for smash burgers

>>16157357
Plenty of boards are like that when most people lurking have an actual take and think OP is an legitimate idiot. Paddlin' time.
Notice how many OPs say either nothing about the personal opinions of OP or are so shitposty/disingenuous that seriously responding is "taking bait"? That's because most anons, normie or not, don't like having beliefs they legitimately hold poked and prodded with 100 needles until they pop.

>>16156918
Use chuck blend? How long do u fry for?

ill take
>two mcdoubles or smash burger equivalent
>2 baskets of fries
>1 diet soda
im on a diet, trying to keep calories low

>>16157245
That's not a smashburger, Anon.

>>16157009
Smashburger and most other fast food chains use 50/50

>>16157574
>That's not a smashburger, Anon.

Nope. It's far better than a smashburger.

>>16158026
I don’t believe that. Have you ever cooked 50/50? It’s mush.

>>16158069
You're in the wrong thread, Anon.

>>16158105
I just looked it up and someone did the math and they claim In-N-Out uses 60/40, if it's not true he's not far off

>/ck/ has a burger autist who is elitist about how to prepare a burger
Fucking lmao
I am 100% willing to bet in a blind taste test the autist's burgers would lose to most chains. It's obvious the guy and other anons are regurgitating some shit they read off of hobbyist sites and dont really have a clue. There are some snippets of truth in this thread but a shit load of misinformation.
>t. Food scientist
Anyways op here's the steps on how to make a smash burger
>50/50 lean meat to fat ratio
>pack it loosely
>high heat
>seasoning is heavy on msg and salt
Actually smashing it doesn't really matter. It just quickens cook time for the restaurant but doesn't really effect the final texture as much as you'd believe

>>16158105
No it's actually true, that anon probably had a job in fast food. 50/50 is the fast food industry standard. Notice how they all advertise freshness but never the ratio? People would be disgusted to see 50/50 ground beef on the advertising.

>>16156918
50/50 hamburger meat and plenty of salt and pepper. The extra fat makes them melt like butter in your mouth