The choice of the Smash Burger recipe comes from:
watching the movie “The Menu,” a 2022 film by Mark Mylod, a rather dark satire of the restaurant world.
Among the various memorable scenes in the movie (trying to avoid spoilers), the one that inspired me is where Chef Julian Slowik (Ralph Fiennes) prepares a DOUBLE CHEESE SMASH BURGER (see video below).
What is a smash burger?
A type of burger preparation widely used in the 1920s and fell out of favor after the advent of fast food.
The meat patty, shaped like a meatball, is smashed on an iron, steel, or cast iron griddle at a temperature of 572°F/662°F for 10 seconds, salted and peppered, flipped within 30 seconds, and cooked for another 1 minute, 1 and 1/2 minutes after adding cheddar.
The meat must be very fresh, have a 20% fat content, and be taken out of the fridge just before cooking.
Finally, it is placed in a slightly toasted bun, with a base of sauce; I used herb yogurt sauce.
You can find the classic version of the cheeseburger already on the blog:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 1 sandwich
- Cooking methods: Griddle
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1 hamburger bun
- 6.35 oz ground beef (20% fat)
- 4 slices cheddar
- to taste salt and pepper
- to taste mayonnaise (or other sauce)
- onion, mustard, pickles (optional)
Steps
Shape the patty into a ball, 3.17 oz for each portion (2).
Remove from the fridge just a few seconds before cooking.
Heat the iron, steel, or cast iron griddle to 572°F/662°F.
Place the ball on the griddle and press hard with a spatula for the first 10 seconds (do not smash again), add salt and pepper (and optional onion). Within a total of 30 seconds, flip.
Add 2 slices of cheddar to each hamburger, cook for 1 minute, at most 1 and a half minutes.
Toast the bun cut in half, add mayonnaise (optionally also mustard and pickles), stack the two cheeseburgers, close.
Press the sandwich firmly.
For a gluten-free version, you can use the Pane Zero di NuvolaZero which is also available in turmeric and pizza flavor, accompanied instead of classic fries, by Cheese Zero Snacks.
The scene from the movie “The Menu” dedicated to the Double cheese smash burger:
The scene from the movie “The Menu” dedicated to the Double cheese smash burger:
The scene from the movie “The Menu”:
Starring in the movie Anya Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy, a young American actress and model with British citizenship, who became famous thanks to the splendid Netflix mini-series “The Queen’s Gambit” based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis.
