What exactly is a smashed burger?

The clue is in the name! The difference between a regular burger and a smash burger is that you place your smash burger on a hot pan and literally “smash” it in those first few seconds of cooking. 

The result is that you get a deliciously crispy burger that cooks quickly to deliver extra taste and texture.

When you cook a thin layer of meat on a piping hot surface, you get a combination of smoke and steam, which means the meat cooks rapidly without drying out. 

Inside, the meat is juicy and tender while you also get a caramelised outer crust that adds to the delicious flavour.

How do I choose meat for smashed burgers?

To get the best results, choose your meat for smashed burgers wisely.

We always recommend free-range grass-fed beef for all our recipes — in fact, it’s the only type of meat you’ll find at Provenir. That’s because it’s ethical, nutritionally healthy and delicious too.

Grass-fed beef is derived from animals that have been fed exclusively on grass throughout their lives. This is because they have been free to roam fields, just as they would in the wild, and behave in harmony with their natural instincts. It also means that the grass-fed meat you get as the end product is actually healthier than the alternative of grain-fed beef.

Grain-fed animals are farmed intensively, which means they are kept in confined spaces where disease can spread easily. So they are routinely given antibiotics to counter the risk of infection, as well as hormones to stimulate growth. If you don’t want to ingest these added nasties, grass-fed beef really is the way forward!

As well as ensuring that our animals’ lives are as healthy and natural as possible, at Provenir, we do our best to make them stress-free at every point. So we use mobile abattoirs that travel to farms to minimise travelling and distress to livestock right up to the end of their lives.

Another factor to bear in mind when choosing your meat is fat content. It’s actually preferable not to choose lean meat for these flavour-packed burgers. Ground meat with a 15 to 20 per cent fat content works best. This helps prevent overcooking and adds to the mouthwatering flavour.

Tips and tricks for this smashed burgers recipe

There are a few other tips and tricks that are good to know for this delicious recipe:

• Brioche buns are the ideal choice. Because they are slightly sweet, they complement the caramelised outer layer of your burgers.
• Instead of slices of processed cheese to top your burger, buy the best quality cheese you can find and slice it yourself — it will really make a difference to the overall flavour. Add the cheese in the last couple of minutes of cooking for a truly decadent texture.
• Add raw onions and pickles to your taste.
• Serve with sweet potato wedges as an alternative to fries.

The best homemade smashed burgers

The process for making these delicious smashed burgers is straightforward and doesn’t require any great cooking skills. You’ll find the homemade burger sauce adds a unique flavour to your burger, drawing out all its juicy tastiness.

Source grass-fed beef for your smashed burgers

Keep things super simple by ordering your grass-fed beef for this recipe to come straight to your door.

Simply check your postcode to find out if you’re in the Provenir delivery area and enjoy the ease and convenience of getting fresh and ethical beef brought to your home.

And don’t forget to check out our other recipes on our blog — it’s all about inspiring you with ideas for healthy everyday eating.