Smashburger Traditional Smash – Simple Copycat Recipe

October 3, 2025

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Within the crowded world of fast-food burgers, the basic Smashburger stands out with its completely crispy-edged patties and signature tangy sauce. This copycat recipe brings that restaurant magic house, that includes skinny patties with caramelized crusts, comfortable potato buns, and the one-of-a-kind Smashsauce that skips primary ketchup-mayo for a daring mustard-pickle punch. Easy elements come collectively for uniquely scrumptious outcomes that rival the unique.

Copycat Smashburger classic smash burger on a small wood serving board.

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Why is the basic Smashburger so good?

Within the crowded world of fast-food burgers, the Smashburger finds a approach to stand out. It could possibly be the skinny patty with the right crust of char and the tender inside. Or maybe it’s the comfortable potato rolls including simply sufficient sweetness to the combination to steadiness the savory beef and American cheese.

However, most definitely it’s the one-of-a-kind Smashsauce that skips the same old ketchup-mayo combine for a daring mayo-and-mustard base spiked with pickle juice and finely diced dills. While you put all of it collectively, you wind up with a burger that’s easy, but uniquely scrumptious.

Traditional Smashburger elements and their roles

For the well-known Smashsauce, you’ll want:

Mayonnaise – kinds the creamy base of the sauce.
Yellow mustard – provides tang to assist steadiness out the richness of the mayo.
Pickle juice – intensifies the zip of the sauce.
Dill pickle, finely chopped – introduces somewhat crunch and pops of acidity that work nicely with the salty beef.
Vegetable oil – thins out the sauce and helps deliver all the opposite elements collectively.

For the burger patties, you’ll want:

Floor chuck – supplies the right steadiness between beefy taste and fats content material.
Kosher salt – enhances the style of the opposite elements.
Floor black pepper – provides a gentle heat to the patties.
Seasoned salt – pumps up the flavour profile with a number of primary seasonings in a single handy ingredient.
Unsalted butter prevents the patties from sticking to the cooking floor and imparts a singular taste that oil lacks.

For plating the basic Smashburger, you’ll want:

Potato buns – lend the construction to the burger and add a contact of sweetness that contrasts splendidly with the charred taste.
American cheese (non-obligatory) – turns the burger right into a cheeseburger.
Lettuce – provides a pleasant crunch.
Pink onion, thinly sliced – contributes a crunch with a little bit of acidity.
Dill crinkle-cut pickle chips – up the pickle taste of the sauce and add crunch.
Tomato slices, thinly sliced – retains the burger further juicy.
Ketchup – brings every thing along with a candy and tart taste.

Copycat Smashburger classic smash burger ingredients on a tray.

Methods to make Smashburger Traditional Smash

To make the Smashsauce:

In a mixing bowl, stir collectively the mayo, yellow mustard, pickle juice, finely chopped dill pickle, and vegetable oil.
Cowl with plastic wrap and chill to permit the flavors to mix whilst you put together the remainder of the basic smash burger recipe.

To organize the burgers:

In a small bowl, mix the kosher salt, floor black pepper, and seasoned salt. Combine nicely and reserve the spice combination for later.
Break up the bottom beef into 4 equal parts.
Use damp palms to evenly kind the bottom beef into balls.
Sprinkle the spice combination evenly on all sides of the meatballs and set them apart.

To prepare dinner the Smashburgers:

Warmth a daily skillet or griddle over medium-high warmth.
Add half of the remaining unsalted butter and wait till it stops foaming.
Place two balls of meat on the cooking floor and instantly squash them with a heavy steel spatula or burger press. Press for about ten seconds to make sure they get a great sear on the primary facet.
Sprinkle extra seasoning combine over the burgers and prepare dinner for a further minute, or till the juices begin to pool on high of the patties.
Flip the patties and season.
Add a slice of American cheese if utilizing, and prepare dinner for a minute or two till the cheese melts, and a crust kinds on the opposite facet.
Place the cooked patties on a plate and canopy with aluminum foil to maintain heat.
Repeat with the remaining two patties.

A 4-panel collage shows how to make smash burgers: forming meat balls, seasoning them, and smashing them flat in a hot skillet.

To toast the hamburger buns:

Soften a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a big skillet.
Place the buns cut-side down within the skillet and toast till the minimize facet is golden brown.
Take away the buns from the skillet and hold them for later.

To assemble the Smashburger Traditional Smash like they do on the restaurant:

Unfold two teaspoons of Smashsauce and two teaspoons of ketchup on the minimize facet of the highest bun.
Lay the cooked patty on the underside bun and add the dill pickles, sliced purple onions, sliced tomato, and lettuce.
Cowl with the highest bun and serve instantly.

A 6-panel collage shows the steps for assembling a copycat smash burger: toasting the bun and layering on sauces, pickles, onion, tomato, and lettuce.

What to serve with this basic smash burger recipe

Make it a meal by pairing a number of of those recipes along with your burger:

Soiled Eating regimen Coke – This tart and creamy creation combines Eating regimen Coke with coconut syrup, vanilla candy cream, and a squeeze of lime. It’s an addictive creation that takes soda into the realm of rigorously crafted cocktails.

Logan’s Roadhouse Fried Mushrooms – Skip the fries and munch on one thing so significantly better. The crunchy buttermilk breading, with its slight tang, enhances the tender, earthy mushrooms completely on this inventive facet dish.

DQ Onion Rings – There are typical onion rings, after which there are DQ Onion Rings. Made with candy onions coated in buttermilk after which tossed with cracker crumbs, these onion rings are further mild and crispy.

Two copycat Smashburger classic smash burgers on a serving board.

Storage and reheating directions

Fridge Storage: Retailer cooked patties and toppings individually in hermetic containers for as much as 2 days. Don’t retailer toasted buns, as they’ll change into soggy.

Reheating Technique: Reheat patties with cheese in a preheated oven at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes. For patties with out cheese, reheat for one minute per facet in a skillet with butter over medium-high warmth for an additional crispy crust.

Freezing: Freeze cooked patties (with out toppings) for as much as 2 months. Thaw within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating. Toast recent buns and assemble with recent toppings.

Two finished smash burgers with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion are arranged on a wooden board for serving.

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