SAN DIEGO — Do you remember how the Cooking with Styles segment began on CBS 8? It all started with the grilling specials for Memorial Day and Labor Day.
I learned how to grill when I lived in Park City Utah and worked for the Corner Store at the Resort Center. They had an outdoor grill where we would grill the burgers, come rain or shine, or in this case snowstorm.
As you can imagine we grilled a lot of burgers every day and each burger was hand-pressed. To this day the Corner Store at the Park City Ski Resort is still grilling burgers on that outdoor grill.
Grilled Smash Burger
- 2 lbs. Ground Beef, makes 6 burgers
- 6 Hamburger Buns
- 6 slices Pepper Jack Cheese, or your favorite
- 1 Avocado
- 1 large Tomato
- Lettuce, if desired
- BBQ sauce
- 12 Sweet Pepper, grilled
- Pickled Red Onions
My secret to making Smash Burgers on the grill is to smash the burgers before grilling. Take some loose ground beef and place it between two pieces of wax paper and smash the patty between two dinner plates. We're not looking for perfectly round but for uneven edges. The next secret is to freeze the patties for a couple of hours.
Lightly oil the grill, then add the frozen burger, season with salt and pepper and close the lid for about 4 - 5 minutes. After the flip, top with a generous amount of BBQ sauce and then place some Pepper Jack cheese. Finish cooking with the lid off. At this point you decide how well done you like your burger.
Be sure to toast the buns towards the end so they a warm for serving. Stack your Grilled Smash Burger with your favorite topping. I'm going with grilled sweet peppers, pickled red onions, chipotle sauce, sliced avocado, and of course sliced tomato and lettuce.
Chipotle Sauce
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- ½ cup Crema or Sour Cream
- ½ - 1 tsp Adobo sauce, canned Chipotle Peppers
- 1 Lime juiced
- 1 tbsp Cilantro or Italian Parsley, fine chop
- pinch of Kosher Salt
Place in a blender and blend until smooth.
Pickled Red Onions
- Red Onion, 1 large or 2 small
- 2 cups White Vinegar
- 2 cups Water
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 tbsp Kosher Salt4 Garlic Cloves, smashed
- 1 tsp Peppercorn
Slice onions as thin as possible, use a Mandoline slicer if you have one. Using 2 glass jars arrange the onions in both, in a large pot combine the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, ladle the mixture over the onions making sure that they get equal amounts of Garlic and peppercorns. Let cool, place lid on top and refrigerate. They will last up to 4 weeks.
WATCH: Memorial Day | Grilling With Styles