Smash Burgers on a Blackstone Griddle

Smash Burgers on a Blackstone Griddle cook quickly with a great crust on the outside. Stack them up on a bun with some onion and mushrooms cooked on the griddle alongside the burgers!

Smash burgers are thinner burgers, generally 2 ounces each, that you can layer onto a bun. A Blackstone cast iron griddle is one of the easiest grills for making smash burgers, as the surface is flat and non-stick (when properly seasoned).

We will show you how to get an even smash and the perfect crust on these burgers.

We’re also going to top them with grilled onions and an easy homemade burger sauce. Sometimes we add sauteed mushrooms to the burgers as well.

Jump to:

• Portion and Season the Meat
• Video
• Make the Burger Sauce
• Make the Grilled Onions
• Toast the Hamburger Buns
• Cook and Smash the Burgers
• Build the Burgers
• 📖 Recipe

Portion and Season the Meat

One of the keys to making great Smash Burgers is prepping as much as you can before you start cooking.

We like to use 80/20 ground beef or ground chuck. This is important because you want the smash burgers to fry in their own fat.

Divide the ground beef into about 2 ½ ounce portions in weight, or about a quarter cup in size if you don't have a scale.

Gently roll the meat into balls. Don't overwork the meat as this can toughen it up and give your burgers more of a meatloaf texture.

You can set these back in the fridge for now while you prep the other ingredients.

Video

Rather WATCH than read? Check out our YouTube video:

Make the Burger Sauce

We like to make a quick burger sauce to go with smash burgers.

Combine mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sweet pickle relish, sugar, apple cider vinegar, and freshly ground pepper in a small bowl.

You can customize the sauce to your preference by adding hot sauce, sriracha, worcestershire sauce, or even substitute ranch dressing for the mayonnaise.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until you're ready to build the burgers.

Make the Grilled Onions

The nice thing about our 2-burner Blackstone is that you can cook some onions, mushrooms, or bacon on one side ahead of time, then move them over and turn that burner to low while you make the smash burgers on the other burner.

Some people will press raw sliced onions right into the meat as they're cooking their smash burgers; however, we have found that this doesn't really cook the onions enough for our us. We prefer to grill them separately and add them to the burger at the end.

Set one side of your Blackstone to about medium or medium low, and drizzle a little bit of oil across the surface of that side.

Place sliced onions in the hot oil with a little bit of salt and more oil as needed.

You don't need to add butter or sugar to get the onions to caramelize. They will caramelize on their own if you just give them a little bit of time and keep them moving frequently using metal tongs. They will start to burn if they stay in any one spot for too long.

After about 10 minutes, or once they are caramelized to your liking, you can push them over to one corner using a metal spatula. Turn that side of the Blackstone down to low to keep them nice and warm until the burgers are ready.

If you're making grilled sliced mushrooms, cook them the same way and move them over next to the onions to stay warm.

Toast the Hamburger Buns

Toasting the buns is so easy to do and is another great way to make your smash burgers even more special. 

We have found that if we toast the buns in the beef fat from the burgers, they end up too soggy and greasy. We like to toast them BEFORE cooking the meat.

You can use a very thin layer of cooking oil on the Blackstone or spread some butter or mayonnaise directly on the buns.

Crank up the heat to high to get the surface ready for the burgers. Place the buns a little off center, closer to the warm side of the grill that has the burner turned to low so that the buns do not burn.

They only need a minute or so. Check the buns frequently to check on whether they are done.

Once they’re toasted, move them over to a rack on the side of the griddle that is turned on low to keep them warm next to the onions.

Cook and Smash the Burgers

To cook the burgers, you can use the same cooking oil you did for the onions, or you can use beef tallow.

We really like to use this wagyu beef tallow when we cook steaks and burgers. It is pure rendered beef fat that imparts a delicious flavor to the meat and helps form a crust on the exterior.

Make sure to let the fat or oil get nice and hot before you add your burgers to the griddle. Place the little meatballs down on the surface.

You can use pieces of parchment paper to keep the burger press from sticking to the meat.

Another option is to squirt a little bit of oil on the burger press before you press down on the meat.

Our preferred method is to cook the ball for a few seconds then flip it and press it down. This creates a small cooked area of meat in the center of the meatball that helps prevent the press from sticking.

You can use two spatulas to press down the burgers, but we really like this cast iron burger press. It has a lot of weight to it, and we get a nice, even press from edge to edge. 

You also want to wear a good pair of high-heat BBQ gloves so that you can press hard and hold the burger press down for a little while without burning your hand.

Don't be afraid to really press on the burgers. If your burger press is sticking a little, pull it off sideways rather than straight up, and it should slide right off.

The best time to season the burgers is before you flip them. You can use plain kosher salt or a burger seasoning. We like using Lawry's seasoned salt.

After another 15 or 20 seconds, flip the burgers over to cook the other side. Because they're so thin, they're not going to take long to finish cooking at this point, so go ahead and throw your cheese on.

We like using a melting dome to get the cheese to melt faster and avoid over-cooking the burgers. Place the dome over two burgers and squirt a little bit of water under the dome to create steam.  

Repeat with the other two burgers until the cheese is completely melted.

Build the Burgers

Now it's time to build the burgers. We like to use a double smash burger for adults and a single for kids.

Place the bottom buns on a plate, top with one or two burgers, then add the grilled onions.

We like to add some pickles and spread the burger sauce on the top bun.

Serve the burgers immediately while they're still hot.

📖 Recipe