Cycle 15 – Item 117

1 (Wed) May 2024

Oklahoma Onion Smashburgers

3.5

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

A smashburger is an American dish.  Just a burger but the ground beef starts out as a ball (rather than a disc) that’s pressed flat – i.e., smashed – with a spatula into the griddle/skillet, resulting in a patty with thin and uneven edges, which then get crispy as it cooks.  Reputedly the original method of making burgers during the early 1900s, when it started out as a street food prepared on portable grills in front of factories, docks, construction sites – balls would’ve been easier to manage by vendors on the go; pre-formed flat patties became the standard in the mid 1900s, when burgers moved indoors to diners, and eventually fast food chains.  Nowadays, the smashburger has reemerged as the hottest “new” thing.

Over the years, I can only recall 2 prior experiences with smashburgers.  First, at Shake Shack in Seoul, where I’d commended the “a bit crispy on the edges” patty, but without recognizing it at the time as a smashburger (see 7.352 ShackBurger).  Second, at The Great American Burger Joint in Manila – self-billed as “Home of the Smashed Burger” – where I’d described the “jagged edges around the perimeter of the patty that got crispy” with much enthusiasm (see 8.22 All American Burger), but then for no particular reason never revisited the dish again (though the restaurant did become one of my favorites in the mall).  Even as I regularly made burgers at home, I always took great care in preforming the patties, including to put a dimple in the middle, never thinking of just smashing them (see for example 11.078 Chili Cheeseburgers), which would’ve been easier and tastier.

Recently, I was reintroduced to the smashburger at what would seem to be an unlikely source.  The high school cafeteria at SFS serves Smash Cheeseburgers in various formulations as a regular lunch item, which I described fondly as “good as a cheeseburger at a restaurant” (see 14.309 Jalapeño Cheddar Double Smash Cheeseburger).  Given the setting, the burgers are quickly assembled to order with pre-smashed patties, which manage to retain their crispy edges (see generally 15.054 Fried Egg Double Smash Cheeseburger).

A few months back, following that second experience with the SFS smashburger, I’d done a search for smashburgers on YouTube, and now the damn algorithm keeps feeding me smashburger videos ad nauseam – again, it’s the hottest “new” thing.

So now, thoroughly inculcated on the glory of the smashburger, I took a shot at making them myself.

The Oklahoma Onion Smashburger is a popular variation on the theme.  While the first side of the patty is cooking, it’s topped with loads of thinly sliced onions, which soften from the rising steam of the cooking meat.  The buns are placed momentarily on top of the steaming onions to infuse the bread with allium aroma.  When the edges of the meat are crispy, the buns are removed (to be grilled separately), and the patty is flipped over along with the onions, which then cook down in the fat of the meat until caramelized.  If adding cheese, it’s placed on the patty while the onions are cooking underneath.  Typically, onion smashburgers don’t include other toppings (maybe a couple sliced pickles), or even condiments (maybe a swipe of mustard), so as to highlight the grilled onion flavor.

I learned the dish from watching various videos featuring George Motz, who has made documentaries and countless videos about burgers, authored cookbooks about burgers, and now owns a burger restaurant (see for example A Day Making NYC’s Most Hyped Burgers at Hamburger America).

It was excellent.  The meat itself – Australian beef, ugh – was predictably bland, despite ample salt and pepper, but the Maillard browning in the crispy and crackly edges both boosted the beefiness and of course amped up the texture.  The onions, which seemed to have melted into the patty, further enhanced the flavor, along with the melted cheese.   And the squishy/fluffy rolls, infused with a subtle hint of onion, brought the whole thing together.  Without the distraction of toppings like lettuce or tomato or raw onions (I added a pickle for a touch of acid), the burger felt fully integrated, what Chef Kenji refers to as “cosmic oneness” (see Kenji Makes Oklahoma Onion Burgers).

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)