Route 66 – Amazing Oklahoma Smash Burger

Classic Oklahoma Smash Burger

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I was inspired recently by a video from a great food channel on an online video platform (you’ll never guess which). It was an Oklahoma smash burger.

I looked in to the history of this burger, and discovered that it was created in the town of El Reno in Oklahoma City during the Great Depression. Due to the high cost of burger meat, part of the burger was substituted with shredded onion that was ‘smashed’ in to the burger patty with the back of a spatula whilst on the grill. I liked the look of this and therefore had to give it a go. I must say though that I was less austere with the burger meat than the original…

…Oh my word, it was probably the best and most ‘life-like’ burger I have created at home. My recipe for the meat patties was 80% silverside (I think this is known as rump roast in the US) and 20% pork back fat – it just adds an unctuous texture to the burger and allows you to cook the burger without having to use any additional oil. I served the burgers with Monterrey Jack – I have also tried with a vintage cheddar, which works really well – and a Russian style dressing; homemade mayo, chopped home-made burger pickles, jalapeño, shallot, Ketchup, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and some of the pickle vinegar. Finally, the buns used were brioche , but I later discovered potato buns and have never looked back.

Onion on a Smash Burger

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Oklahoma Smash Burger

Serves: 8 Burgers Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 2 voted )
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Ingredients

For the burger:
800g silverside (rump roast) or equivalent
200g pork back fat
a little seas salt for seasoning
2 brown onions
8 slices Monterrey Jack
8 potato or brioche burger buns

 

For the Russian dressing:
300g Mayonnaise*
juice from half a lemon
2tbsp Dijon mustard
2tbsp tomato ketchup
1 French shallot
6 slices sweet pickled dill cucumbers
2-3 tbsp of pickle juice from the dill cucumbers
3 slices pickled jalapeño chilli
sea salt (as required)

Method

For the burger: mince the silverside and pork back fat and add a little sea salt for seasoning (If buying mince from a butcher it will usually contain enough fat so buy 1kg). Create 8 equal sized meat balls and refrigerate until required. Peel and finely slice the onions.

For the Russian dressing: finely chop the shallot, dill cucumber slices and jalapeño slices. To a bowl add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon and ketchup and stir will. Now add the dill cucumber, jalapeño, shallot and the pickle juice. Stir well, and season with a little sea salt, only if required. Keep in the fridge until needed.

For the buns: cut the buns in half and lightly toast them either on a hot grill or hotplate. Set aside.

The burgers are best cooked on a hot plate or large frying pan. I use the hotplate on a gas powered barbecue as I get an even cooking and can cook more burgers at a time.

Heat up a hotplate over a medium heat. Place 4 (if using a pan then maybe 2 at a time) meatballs on the hotplate; there is no need to use oil as there is sufficient fat in the burger to cook them. Now flatten each one in to a burger patty by pressing down with a spatula (use baking paper in between the burger and spatula to prevent it from sticking). Take an eighth of the onion slices and ‘smash’ them with a spatula in to the top of a burger patty. Repeat for the other burgers. When the bottom of each burger has a lovely brown ‘crust’ flip them over. Now add a slice of Monterrey Jack to each burger. Take the first bun and place the top half inside down on top of the burger. Now place the bottom half outside down on the top half of the bun. Repeat for the other buns. Whilst the burger is cooking this will ‘steam’ the burger buns, softening them. When the burger is cooked and the cheese melted remove the top half of the burger bun. Flip the burger on to a plate so that the bottom half of the bun is outside down and the burger is on top. Now liberally spoon over some Russian dressing and then place the top half of the bun on to the burger. Repeat for the other burgers. Eat immediately. You’ll feel like you’ve made a pitstop on Route 66.

*For home-made mayonnaise see here

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