Smash Burgers with Special Sauce and Pickles

Ingredients

• 800g beef mince (20% fat)
• 20g unsalted butter
• 4 brioche burger buns, split
• 8 American cheese slices
• 2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced into rounds
• 60ml white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp yellow mustard
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 80g mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp American mustard
• 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
• 2 beef tomatoes, thickly sliced, to serve
• ½ iceberg lettuce, leaves separated and torn, to serve
• 1 white onion, very finely sliced into rings, to serve
• flaky sea salt, to finish
• skin-on fries, to serve
• coleslaw, to serve

Method

1. Start the pickles. Whisk the white wine vinegar, caster sugar and yellow mustard in a bowl with a good pinch of salt until the sugar dissolves. Add the cucumber slices, toss to coat and leave for at least 20 minutes until softened and sharp.
2. Mix all the special sauce ingredients in a small bowl, season to taste and chill until needed.
3. Divide the mince into 8 loose balls of roughly 100g each — handle them as little as possible. Season generously all over with salt and pepper.
4. Set a large heavy-based frying pan or cast-iron skillet over the highest heat until properly smoking. Add a thin film of oil.
5. Working in batches of 2–3, drop the beef balls into the pan and immediately press down firmly with a sturdy spatula or burger press until each patty is around 1cm thick. Cook undisturbed for 2 minutes, until the edges are lacy and deeply browned and a dark crust has formed underneath.
6. Flip each patty, lay a slice of American cheese on top and cook for a further minute, until the cheese is slumping and the second side is browned. Stack two patties together in the pan for 30 seconds so the cheese melds into one molten layer, then transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining patties.
7. Wipe the pan, drop the heat to medium and add the butter. Once foaming, press the brioche buns cut-side down and toast for 1–2 minutes until golden and lightly crisp at the edges.
8. Spread a generous spoonful of special sauce on both cut sides of every toasted bun.
9. Build each burger: bottom bun, torn iceberg, a thick slice of tomato, the double-stacked cheesy patties, a tangle of raw onion rings and a heap of drained pickles, then the top bun.
10. Press a pinch of flaky sea salt onto each top bun and serve immediately with skin-on fries, coleslaw and extra special sauce alongside.