Smashburger Coming to SF?
Venice and Jersey burger memories inspired me to grill my special burger and share this simple recipe for you to enjoy. You’ll never eat a dry, tough, tasteless burger again.
It was late as we made our way back to our Venice apartment. We were tired. There it was–a McDonald’s. No way I said but the crew was determined. I got the Il Mac on the controversial new McItaly menu. Leave it to the Italians to add something really good to the standard McDonald choices. Il Mac was a special grind of locally-sourced meat grilled topped with fontina cheese served on a specially baked local ciabatta roll with lettuce and tomato. It was delicious.
At diners in Jersey, such as Buff’s, White Castle, or the Short Stop you just tell them what you want—no special instructions. Cheeseburger? The counter cook with the dirty waist apron took a ball of ground beef and threw it on top of grilling onions. With a rap of his spatula he smashed the meat into the onions, some now in the burger some still frying on the grill. The burger was cooked through with a crispy crust covered by melted cheese and served on a poppyseed kaiser roll. I always had 2.
My burger recipe is inspired by Il Mac, Jersey diner burgers and my meatballs and has 2 special ingredients to keep the burgers juicy, tender and flavorful. I top the burgers with Italian fontina sprinkle on sauteed cipollini onions and serve the big juicy burger on a toasted soft rosette roll.
You don’t have to wait for the new chain to hit town. Try my Jersey version to get you in the mood.
Meet America’s Most Promising Company: Smashburger
Here’s what Forbes had to say about what they called one of the fastest growing companies in America.
The name Smashburger refers to the process by which its ¼-pound, 1/3-pound and ½-pound burgers are made. It begins with a ball of raw Angus beef, which a grill cook “smashes” with a handheld steel mold onto a butter-brushed grill for ten seconds, giving the patty a caramelized sear to lock in the juices. Then come unconventional toppings like avocado, fried eggs and garlic mushrooms, as well 11 sauces, including chipotle mayo and spicy brown mustard. Buns? Everything from multi-grain to a pretzel roll.
- 1 pound 80 percent ground beef
- 1 slice stale bread crust removed
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- sliced Italian Fontina cheese (or your favorite)
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 onion
- Cut off the crust of the bread. Cut into cubes. Put it in a bowl with the milk. As the bread softens mash it with a fork to make a paste. This is a panada that Italians have always used to keep meatballs tender.
- Put the beef, panada, garlic, Worcestershire Sauce and salt & pepper in a big bowl. Mix gently to blend all the ingredients well.
- Saute the sliced onion in some EVOO and add a sprinkle of sea salt. Saute until the onion becomes translucent and begins to caramelize. Set aside.
- Put a cast iron grill pan on the stove over high heat or on your well heated gas or charcoal grill. (If you are cooking indoors as I did you can use a cast iron skillet or other frying pan. The caramelized crust on the burger from the flat pan is even better than the grill marks.)
- Toss a tennis ball size of meat between your hands. When the ball is firm loosely form a patty about 1 1/2 inches thick. With your fingers press down the center of the patty to ensure even cooking.
- When the grill pan is really hot toast the buns and set them aside.
- Put the burgers on the hot grill and reduce the heat to medium-high. Grill the burger to form grill marks–about 3 minutes or so. Turn the burgers over, top with the cheese and grill for 2-3 minutes more. You want the burger cooked well. To help the cheese melt put a cover over the burgers. (No worries the burgers will still be tender, moist and full of flavor without any potential bacteria danger.)
- Place the cheeseburger on the toasted bun and top with the caramelized onions.