Professional Flat-Top Methods for 2026 Summer Grilling

I make smashburgers on steel frequently. The work is getting your burger bar together: sliced pickles, onions, cheese, unique sauce.

Get your frying pan or steel ripping hot. We're cooking these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you desire it screaming hot for that Maillard response, the sear that makes smashburgers famous.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash burgers on this thing that people still speak about. Smashburgers at home are off the charts. Here's how I do it. More area equals more taste. Smashing the beef thin optimizes contact with the hot steel, activating the Maillard response, the chemical procedure that produces that deep, tasty, browned flavor all of us long for.

Your first burger and your 4th get the exact same amazing edge-to-edge crust without the temperature level dropping. I 'd know my family has been in the steel service for over 50 years at our shop in Hanover, MA. I comprehend this material, and I built these frying pans specifically to fix the heat retention problem that cast iron can't.

How to Master the Flat-Top: Professional Burger Methods

Let it pre-heat for 10-15 minutes until it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the same principle behind our pizza steels pack the steel with heat, and it does the work for you. Carefully divide the hamburger into 4 x 4 oz (115g) balls. Do not strain the meat; just form it into a loose ball.

Instantly smash them extremely thin (about 1/4 inch) with a stiff spatula or press. To prevent sticking, you can put a small piece of parchment paper in between the meat and the spatula. Season the smashed patties kindly with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Cook for 60-90 seconds. You'll see the edges turn a deep, crispy brown.

Cook for another 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese. Quickly toast your buns on a cooler part of the frying pan for 15-20 seconds.

Advanced Flat-Top Strategies for 2026 Summer Grilling

Cheese melting perfectly on the Mini Griddle Cast iron is the traditional choice for smashburgers, and it works. I used cast iron for many years. After checking both side-by-side for over a decade, I changed to steel. And look, I'm not simply a guy with an opinion. My household has actually run because the 1960s.

I comprehend how it shops and transfers heat in a method most individuals never ever consider. That understanding is precisely what led me to invent the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I created the Skinny Griddle particularly for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the distinction: That indicates it recovers temperature quicker between burgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Steel doesn't drop. You get the very same screaming-hot crust on your very first hamburger and your fourth. It warms up much faster and disperses heat more uniformly. No hot areas, no cold spots. Simply constant, edge-to-edge browning. No flavoring, no babying. Just cook, scrape, wipe clean. I've tested cast iron, stainless steel, and every frying pan on the marketplace.

Preheat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your burgers right on the steel. You get the exact same incredible crust with the included benefit of outside cooking and that subtle smoky flavor from the grill.

How to Cook a High-Quality Flat-Top Burger

Pals lose their minds when they see it. They walk up expecting routine grilled burgers and rather they see me smashing patties on a slab of American-made steel on the grill. It's a whole thing. Perfect smash hamburgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outdoor grill I designed each of these for a specific use case.

It fits on a single burner and is perfect for households or hamburger night with pals. is compact and perfect for 1-2 burgers. It's excellent for little kitchens, apartment or condos, or solo cooking. Same heat retention, smaller sized footprint. is the one that started all of it. Use it in the oven for pizza, or take it outdoors and location it on your grill for smashburgers, steaks, and more.