The Triple Smash Burger
I’ve never really come across a kind of burger I don’t like, but I have to say the smash burger has quickly become my favourite. Smash burgers have just been taking Toronto by storm over the past few years, and I’m not mad about it. We finally got the hint from our neighbours to the south in California and got on the smash burger train. I started doing takeout from my catering kitchen during the lockdowns throughout the pandemic and then partnered with a neighbouring brewery to run their food program. Our biggest hit was our double smash burger, I of course had to make this smash burger a triple, so three smash cheeseburger patties piled on top of each other, shredded lettuce, chopped white onions, pickles and special sauce. So. Epic. And making your own special sauce is so easy, too. All you need to do is mix French dressing, mayo, chopped bread and butter pickles and white onion. Sorry In-N-Out and McDonalds, your secret is out now.
As I’ve mentioned before the quality of the meat you use for your burgers really makes a difference. When the meat is good, all you need is some salt and pepper and the grill does the rest of the work – the roaring hot Alchemy Grills plancha creates a beautiful sear, caramelizing the fat in the meat, making a crispy crust around the edges of the burger. The contrast between the crisped up meat, gooey cheese and cool and crunchy toppings are just next level. If you want to find out more about the Alchemy, make sure to sign up for the newsletter on the Alchemy Grills site here. For the full Triple Smash Burger recipe keep reading, or jump to the full recipe.
Start by making your special sauce. It's super easy to make, all you need to do is finely chop bread and butter pickles and white onion. In a small bowl, add your mayo and French dressing, then your pickles and onions and mix to combine. You'll also want to shred your iceberg lettuce and set aside for later.
To make your burger patties, you're going to take 3.5oz of ground beef and roll it into a ball. Since this is a triple smash, make two more balls of ground beef of the same size. Salt and pepper each one.
Place each ball of meat onto the grill and let it sit for about 30-60 seconds. Using a piece of parchment paper over the meat and either a wide spatula or burger press, press down to flatten the burger onto the grill.
Allow the burgers to cook about a minute or two and then flip. You should have a browned and somewhat crispy bottom and edges to the burger.
Add a slice of American cheese on top of each burger patty and let it melt as the burger cooks through. At this point, you're also going to add your bun to the grill, face down, to toast.
Once the burgers are cooked through, the cheese is melted and your bun is a golden brown, stack all three patties on top of each other on your bottom bun. Transfer off the grill to build the rest of your smash burger.
To dress your burger, spread your special sauce on your top bun. Add the diced white onions, shredded iceberg lettuce and pickle slices on top. Close the bun and enjoy.
And now for the full recipe...
Triple Smash Burger Recipe
Makes 1 burger
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
3 x 3.5oz ground beef, rolled into balls
2 tbsp white onions, finely chopped, divided
3 slices American cheese
12 slices bread and butter pickles
2 tbsp French dressing
2 tbsp mayo
¼ cup shredded iceberg lettuce
Brioche sesame seed bun
How to Make it
Start by making your special sauce. Finely chop your white onion and about 6-8 of your pickle slices. In a bowl, add in your French dressing, mayo, 1 tbsp chopped onions and the chopped pickles. Mix and set aside.
Shred your iceberg lettuce. Set aside.
To make your smash burgers, roll about 3.5oz of ground beef into a ball. Repeat this two more times so you have three, 3.5oz balls of ground beef. Salt and pepper the beef. Place all three balls of meat onto the hot plancha, let them sit for about 30-60 seconds. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the ball of meat and using a wide metal spatula or burger press, press down to flatten or ‘smash’ your burger. Repeat for the other two balls of meat. Once all three are flattened, allow to cook about a minute or two and then flip. Add a slice of American cheese to each patty and add your bun to the grill to toast, let the cheese slightly melt as the bun toasts.
To build, stack each cheeseburger patty on top of each other on your bottom bun. On the top bun, add your special sauce, diced onion, pickles and shredded lettuce. Close the top and dig in.
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