Smash Cheeseburger with Burger Sauce

Owain Hill’s juicy smash burgers with a charred outside and moist middle, topped with honey-soy cheesy bacon and a tangy house burger sauce that’s great in sandwiches too.

Tags
Source
Source
Recipe Info
Servings: 4
Prep: 25m (plus overnight marinating)
Cook: 25m
Total: 50m (plus overnight marinating)
Ingredients
  • 1kg 12% fat beef mince
  • 4 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 8 cheese slices
  • 4 brioche burger buns, halved
  • A few gherkins, sliced, to serve
  • For the cheesy bacon: 12 smoked streaky bacon rashers
  • For the cheesy bacon: 4 tsp clear honey
  • For the cheesy bacon: 4 tsp soy sauce
  • For the cheesy bacon: 20g Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
  • For the burger sauce: 150g gherkins
  • For the burger sauce: 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • For the burger sauce: 1/2 tsp garlic granules
  • For the burger sauce: 120g mayonnaise
  • For the burger sauce: 4 tsp maple syrup
  • For the burger sauce: 80g American mustard
  • For the burger sauce: 80g tomato ketchup
Instructions
  1. The night before, prepare the cheesy bacon. Put the rashers in a reusable food bag with the honey and soy sauce. Massage well so the honey and soy combine and coat the bacon. Refrigerate overnight (up to 24 hours).
  2. For the burger sauce, put all the sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth; season. Any extra sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  3. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6) and line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Put the mince in a large bowl with the salt and a generous twist of black pepper and mix gently to combine. Divide into 8 x 125g balls.
  4. Remove the bacon from the marinade, lay it on the lined tray and bake for 12 minutes, flipping halfway. Scatter over the Parmigiano Reggiano and return to the oven for a final 2 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, put a heavy-based, wide frying pan over a high heat. Find a heavy pan (ideally cast iron) with a base of a similar size to the frying pan, and have a sheet of baking parchment ready.
  6. When the frying pan is hot, add 1 tbsp oil and 2 mince balls, spaced evenly apart. Immediately cover loosely with the parchment, put the heavy pan on top and press down as firmly as you can to squash the meat into thin patties. Remove the heavy pan and peel off the parchment – the patties should be less than 1cm thick and look lacy in places.
  7. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip. Top each patty with a cheese slice and cook for 1 minute more, until cooked through, the juices run clear and no pink meat remains. Transfer to a warm plate and loosely tent with foil. Repeat in batches with the remaining oil and mince balls.
  8. Once all the burgers are cooked, turn the heat down to medium and toast the buns in the pan for 1 minute.
  9. To assemble, spread burger sauce on the cut sides of each bun. Add gherkins to the base, then top with 2 burgers and the bacon, and finish with the bun tops. Serve straight away.
Back to Recipes