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The Gustable Griddle Burger

Thick-pressed burgers seasoned outside with French onion soup mix and Killer Hogs AP (all-purpose) seasoning, crusted on a 450°F flat-top, topped with cheese on toasted potato buns, with a Kewpie-based burger sauce.

  • Main
  • 450°F flat-top
  • Makes 6 burgers
Gus' Family Recipe

Ingredients

For the burgers

  • 2 lb ground beef, 80/20 or 85/15
  • French onion soup mix
  • Killer Hogs AP seasoning
  • 6 slices cheddar or American cheese
  • 6 potato buns
  • 1 to 2 tbsp soft butter, for the buns
  • Wax paper
  • Optional: 1 onion, sliced, for grilled onions

For the burger sauce

  • 1/2 cup Kewpie mayo
  • 2 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tsp yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp Bubbies dill relish
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • Pinch of salt, to taste

Steps

  1. Heat the flat-top: set the Searwood's flat-top to 450°F and let it come fully up to temperature.

  2. Make the sauce: stir together the mayo, ketchup, mustard, relish and lemon juice. Taste, then add salt a pinch at a time. Kewpie and the relish are already a bit salty.

  3. Portion: divide the beef into 6 equal balls (about 5 oz each). Shape each into a loose patty.

  4. Season: sprinkle both sides of each patty with French onion soup mix (https://a.co/d/0iSYWtt1) and Killer Hogs AP.

  5. Optional onions: if you're making grilled onions, cook the sliced onion on the flat-top with a little of the butter or oil until soft and browned. Move them to a cooler edge to keep warm.

  6. Press: lay the patties on the flat-top, cover each with a piece of wax paper, and press down with a heavy press. Don't flatten them all the way like a smash burger. Press just enough that the whole bottom of the patty is in contact with the surface. Peel off the wax paper.

  7. Flip: when the color on top of the patty starts to change, flip. The bottom should have a deep brown crust and sizzle as it turns.

  8. Cheese: wait about a minute, then lay on the cheese.

  9. Check doneness: probe the side of a patty into the center. Pull them at 160°F.

  10. Toast the buns: while the cheese melts, spread a thin layer of butter on the cut sides of the buns. Toast them cut side down on a clean, dry spot of the flat-top, away from the beef grease, until golden, about 30 to 60 seconds. Don't cover them, and don't stack them.

  11. Build: sauce on the toasted bun, then the burger, then the onions if you made them. Serve right away.

Cook's Notes

  • Get a meat thermometer and use it every time. An instant-read thermometer costs less than a pack of good beef. Guessing by look or by time is the most common reason people get bad results over and over. The food-safety guideline for ground beef is 160°F.
  • Why press? Full contact with the hot surface is what builds the deep brown crust. That browning is the Maillard reaction, and it's where most of the flavor comes from.
  • The seasoning goes on the outside only, not mixed into the meat. That keeps the texture tender and puts the flavor right in the crust.
  • No soggy buns: soft potato buns soak up steam fast. Butter the cut side, toast on a dry spot without a cover, and build right before serving. The sauce on the toasted surface also helps keep juices from soaking in.
  • Sauce: if you have time, make it ahead and let it sit in the fridge so the flavors blend.
  • I buy the beef at PCC Community Markets.