Wagyu, onion, bbq sriracha smash burger

[robertm]

I went for broke this weekend. I've been playing around with smash burgers for a few years now and this was unquestionably the best I've ever made. Possibly the best burger I've ever eaten. The pic simply doesn't do it justice.

Walmart around me started carrying 1 lb packages of American Wagyu for $5/lb. It's really dam tasty and well worth the extra ~$2.

Recently started playing with the OK onion burger technique. It really is more than the sum of it's parts. The onions get caramelized and are juicy and meld into the meat to make an already awesome burger even better.

Finally the BBQ sriracha sauce from Trader Joes. Sometimes I wish I'd never tried this stuff. It is so flippen good on a burger I can't eat them any other way now. In fact I stood in line for 30 minutes on Sunday waiting to get in just to get more of this spicy, bbqey elixir in a bottle. (Yes I bought 4 bottles and no I didn't care that I took half their stock.)

Other players are Freddies steak burgers seasoning, good ole Kraft American cheese and a freshly buttered and toasted bun.

I'm telling you all 10 of my fingers were licked after this burger!

(I'm going to make a point of getting some better pics next time I make these)

 

[Shiz-Nit]

Nice

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Looks great

 

[scp]

You nailed it...I do it the same way with the onions...really makes it!

 

[Kanco Connection]

You should be in marketing. I’ll be going to Trader Joe’s on Wednesday. Thanks

 

[Kanco Connection]

Also, what size patties are finding work well?—you said you’ve been experimenting. I’ve been going with 2.5 oz and seems good

 

[robertm]

I usually go with 4 oz burgers. Mostly because I’m lazy and I can eyeball pretty close with 1lb increments of meat. Admittedly they are little oversized for the buns using regular 80/20. Using the wagyu they shrink up a little more and are good sized fit for the larger sized buns. I’ve got a bunch of ground nilgai in the freezer I use for smash burgers as well. It hardly shrinks at all and is pretty oversized at 4 oz. Again though it’s just easy. It likely comes down to the fat percentage. The higher fat percentage melts away on the grill and results in a smaller finished burger.

One thing I’ve noticed is I can’t ever get my burgers as paper thin on the edges as some of the restaurants. I think it comes down to the grind they are using. I’ve played around with running store bought ground through the meat grinder one more time but it was more work than I really care to put in for burgers. I try to keep things fairly simple when making smash burgers so that I want to keep making them in the future. Would also love to know what percentage meat/fat the restaurants that specialize in smash burgers use.

I’ve got a bunch of brisket trimmings in the freezer piling up. I’m going to play around with grinds and fat percentages and see how these turn out. I suspect 70/30 and a fine grind will result in a really smashable and juicy final product. Man I love burgers.

 

[Bill-Chicago]

Damn they look good.


Were those them Texas 1015 onions? I had those once and they made home made onion ring heaven.


Grilled into a wagyu smash burger sounds like a tasty experiment.


Thanks for sharing

 

[charcoalwilly]

I can smell them from here. Couple of questions on your technique. Did you flip the uncooked side of burger straight on top of the carmelized onions? How long do you let the burger sit on the onions?

 

[Moose]

 

[robertm]

Damn they look good.


Were those them Texas 1015 onions? I had those once and they made home made onion ring heaven.


Grilled into a wagyu smash burger sounds like a tasty experiment.


Thanks for sharing

Funny you mention that. I was thinking about it after I sliced up all the onions (I use a mandolin) that my eyes weren't watering and these TX sweet yellows are so great to work with!

 

[robertm]

I can smell them from here. Couple of questions on your technique. Did you flip the uncooked side of burger straight on top of the carmelized onions? How long do you let the burger sit on the onions?

Admittedly not my technique. They’ve been doing it this way up in OK since the depression era I suspect. Here’s the basic technique:

1) Very thin slice sweet onions.
2) Create ~1/4lb 80/20 balled up patties and let setup in fridge
3) Place burger on hot griddle and smash thin. (Parchment paper really helps prevent sticking to smasher.)
4) Place nice pile of onions on top of patty
5) Cook until patty is good and seared on bottom then flip so onions are underneath
6) When about ready place cheese on top of patty.
7) Add bottom bun to top of cheese
8) Remove all and flip again so bun side down on plate.
9) Enjoy!

I cook pretty hot to get a good sear. somewhere around 450 or so. Whole burger doesn’t take but maybe 3 minutes when you smash good and thin.

 

[Stingerhook]

Heck yeah Robert.