RECIPE BREAKDOWN🤯

The Smash Burger Manifesto

Why do smash burgers hit different than normal burgers?

1) Smash burgers excel in their texture, offering a satisfying contrast of crispy and juicy.

• The toasted bun, gooey cheese, fresh toppings like tomato and lettuce, and the rich burger sauce all contribute to a dynamic flavor experience.

2) Don’t underestimate the emotional factor—smash burgers are the epitome of American comfort food.

3) Their deep, beef flavor happens during the smashing & searing, which maximizes the Maillard reaction—a browning process that brings out the savory compounds in the meat.

• By smashing the patty thin and wide during cooking, you maximize surface contact, enhancing the browning and intensifying the flavor.

• In contrast, standard burgers don’t get as much browning, resulting in less flavor and crust-like texture.

How to prepare the perfect smash burger

1. Burger Sauce: Aim for a balanced mix of fatty, sweet, and acidic flavors. Try combining mayo, ketchup, mustard, and your favorite spices.

2. Fresh Toppings: Use crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and pickles.

3. Cheese: Choose a cheese that melts well, like American or a young cheddar.

4. Beef: Use an 80/20 blend for maximum juiciness and flavor. Opt for two or three small patties (around 85g each) instead of one large one.

The most crucial step: cook on super-high heat. Whether you use a pan or griddle, make sure it’s ripping hot. Sear and press the patties to achieve full browning before they overcook.

Check out the original video deep dive here. 

RECIPE RECOMMENDATIONS ✅

Our best burgers

Smash burgers are king, but we’ll eat just about anything on a bun. Get inspired and cook through our collection of burgers here:

FOOD TRENDS 🚀

Scrambled pancakes

Are scrambled pancakes just funnel cakes?

Scrambled pancakes blew up on TikTok over the summer. For the uninitiated: instead of cooking perfect spheres of batter, you “scramble” the batter with a spatula until it’s set into irregular pieces.

• Because these were often topped with powdered sugar, commenters often likened this to “funnel cake.”

We think this is a poor comparison.

Funnel cake is deep fried, which results in a completely different texture than something pan-fried with minimal oil. The fair food gets its name from the batter hopper, which dispenses tight ropes of batter into hot oil that immediately sets into an evenly browned tangle. This creates lots of crispy surface area to minimally fluffy interiors.

Despite sharing batter and powdered sugar, funnel cakes are completely different from scrambled pancakes. Instead, the trend is similar to a real dessert served in Eastern Europe

• Kaiserschmarrn, or “imperial mess” is found as a traditional dessert found throughout Austria & Germany since the mid-19th century. Slovenia has a similar treat known as smorn.

The internet seems to be divided over the merits of this treat:

• Cons: not the same as an actual pancake, no stack, not light or fluffy, but more crumbly — almost like a funnel cake but worse.

• Pros: Really easy to make, takes less time, can’t mess it up. Easy for kids to eat because you don’t have to cut the pancake up.

We’ll let you all decide:

READER Q&A 🧠

Pickle types explained

Answer: Half & full sour pickles are cucumbers that have been lacto-fermented, instead of pickled with a standard vinegar brine.

Lacto-fermentation is a process that uses just salt to preserve an ingredient. Over time, lactic acid develops through anaerobic fermentation, which creates that sour tang and some umami flavor (which is why they are so addicting).

• Half-sour pickles are fermented for a shorter amount of time than full sour pickles. The longer something lacto-ferments, the more lactic acid is produced, which creates more sour flavors.

Before canning and quick pickling, lacto-fermenting was the original way to preserve vegetables. So if you want to try out what pickles used to taste like, or experiment with other lacto-fermented foods, check out some of Ethan’s OG guides on the topic.

• Lacto-fermenting 101

• Lacto-fermented blueberries

• Lacto-fermented cranberries

• Lacto-fermented hot sauce

Have a culinary question? Reply to send it in for a chance to be featured and get your question answered.

WINNING READER SUBMISSION 🏆

Pickle party

This week’s dinner winner is Carrie W., who made Middle Eastern beet pickled turnips, garlic and cumin pickled turnips, and pickled red onions. Learn how to pickle here.

Reply with a picture of the best meal you made this week for a chance to be featured in a future email.

EXTRA HELPINGS 🍽️

A read: How Long Does Rice Last in the Fridge?

In a minute or less: Taste Test Cold Brew

What we’re watching: Former Noma Chef's New Restaurant

Food science: Does Grass-Fed Beef Actually Taste Different?

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