Smash Burger

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ground chuck, 80/20
• 4 soft potato buns
• 4 slices American cheese
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp salted butter, softened
• 1/2 small white onion, sliced paper thin
• 8 dill pickle chips
• 4 tsp yellow mustard
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise

Before you cook

• Divide the chuck into 4 loose balls of about 6 ounces each and set them on a plate without compacting them.
• Slice the onion as thinly as you can and separate the rings.
• Butter the cut sides of the buns.

Steps

1. Set a cast iron skillet or flat griddle over high heat and let it preheat for a full 5 minutes until a drop of water skitters and vanishes.
2. Lay the buttered buns cut side down on the dry griddle and toast them for about 45 seconds, until deep golden, then move them to plates.
3. Wipe the griddle, add the vegetable oil, and spread it thin with a folded paper towel held in tongs.
4. Place two beef balls on the griddle, leaving several inches between them.
5. Press each ball flat with a stiff metal spatula, leaning your weight on it for a slow count of ten, until the patty is about a quarter inch thick and wider than the bun.
6. Season the tops heavily with salt and pepper.
7. Cook the patties without moving them for 2 minutes, until the edges look brown and crisp and the top surface is beading with juice.
8. Scrape under each patty with the spatula held almost flat, keeping the whole brown crust attached, and flip.
9. Lay a slice of cheese on each patty and cook for 45 seconds more.
10. Move the patties to two of the toasted buns and cook the remaining two balls the same way.
11. Spread mayonnaise on the bun tops and mustard on the patties.
12. Add sliced onion and two pickle chips to each burger, close them, and serve right away while the crust is still crisp.