Understanding Flat-Top vs Outdoor Grilling Methods

I make smashburgers on steel often. They are bad ass and as soon as you try it in this manner, you'll never return. I created the Baking Steel back in 2012 for pizza however truthfully, smashburgers may be the thing I cook on steel more than anything else these days. The work is getting your burger bar together: sliced pickles, onions, cheese, unique sauce.

Get your griddle or steel ripping hot. We're cooking these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you want it yelling hot for that Maillard reaction, the sear that makes smashburgers famous.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash hamburgers on this thing that people still speak about. Smashburgers in your home are off the charts. Here's how I do it. More surface location equals more taste. Smashing the beef thin maximizes contact with the hot steel, activating the Maillard response, the chemical process that creates that deep, savory, browned flavor we all yearn for.

Your first hamburger and your fourth get the exact same unbelievable edge-to-edge crust without the temperature dropping. I 'd know my household has actually been in the steel organization for over 50 years at our shop in Hanover, MA. I understand this material, and I developed these frying pans particularly to fix the heat retention issue that cast iron can't.

Essential Steps for Perfect Outdoor Dinner Sides

Let it preheat for 10-15 minutes up until it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the very same principle behind our pizza steels load the steel with heat, and it does the work for you.

Season the smashed patties kindly with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Cook for 60-90 seconds.

Utilize a bench scraper or stiff spatula to get under the patty, ensuring you scrape up all the crispy, browned bits. Turn it over. Instantly position a piece of cheese on the flipped patty. Cook for another 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese. Briefly toast your buns on a cooler part of the frying pan for 15-20 seconds.

Delicious Dinner Inspiration for Grilling in 2026

Cheese melting completely on the Mini Frying pan Cast iron is the conventional option for smashburgers, and it works. I utilized cast iron for years. After testing both side-by-side for over a years, I switched to steel. And appearance, I'm not simply a guy with a viewpoint. My family has actually run because the 1960s.

I comprehend how it stores and transfers heat in a manner a lot of individuals never believe about. That understanding is precisely what led me to develop the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I created the Skinny Frying pan particularly for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the difference: That suggests it recuperates temperature faster between hamburgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

You get the same screaming-hot crust on your very first hamburger and your fourth. Simply cook, scrape, wipe tidy. I've evaluated cast iron, stainless steel, and every griddle on the market.

Pre-heat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your hamburgers right on the steel. You get the same extraordinary crust with the included benefit of outside cooking and that subtle smoky taste from the grill.

Advanced Flat-Top Methods for Upcoming Summer Grilling

Friends lose their minds when they see it. They walk up anticipating regular grilled hamburgers and instead they see me smashing patties on a piece of American-made steel on the grill. It's an entire thing. Perfect smash burgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outdoor grill I created each of these for a specific use case.

It fits on a single burner and is ideal for households or hamburger night with good friends. is compact and ideal for 1-2 hamburgers. It's fantastic for small cooking areas, homes, or solo cooking. Exact same heat retention, smaller sized footprint. is the one that started it all. Use it in the oven for pizza, or take it outdoors and location it on your grill for smashburgers, steaks, and more.