For many burger restaurants and backyard grillers, a beef patty is meant to be thick and exalted. Note its substantial presence, its flowing juices, its likeness to steak for customizing degrees of doneness.
Not all cooks go deep, though. They go wide. With the same 4 ounces of beef, they’ll create a thinner, broader burger. Instead of a round, dense patty reaching an inch in height, they’ll serve a flattened sprawler barely a quarter-inch tall: a smash burger.
For devotees, these low-rise burgers are worthy of similar acclaim.
“Big, thicker, pub-style burgers take longer to cook,” explains Sam Steadman, owner of the Chattanooga food truck Smash Boyz. “Smash burgers are faster, while you can still keep them nice and juicy and flavorful, with a nice crispy sear on them as well.”
(READ MORE: When it’s too hot to grill, make these Double-Decker Smash Burgers in a skillet)
Smash burgers take their name from the grilling technique, in which a puck of meat is tossed onto a hot griddle then smashed flat with a spatula, sealing in the juices and creating a flavorful crust and crisp, scraggly edges. Cooks say success depends on three main factors: The meat should be cold (straight from the refrigerator), the griddle should be hot (450-500 degrees F) and the smash should be firm and decisive. The meat needs to be flattened enough to cook quickly — 2 to 3 minutes before flipping. The flip side will need even less time, mostly just long enough for a slice of cheese to melt on top.
Local diners may be familiar with smash burgers at national chains such as Steak ‘n Shake, Five Guys and Freddy’s, all of which have locations in the Chattanooga area. Culver’s, another national chain, will enter the local market in September, outside Northgate Mall. At least for now, specialty chains such as Smashburger and Shake Shack will need to stay on your traveling itinerary for sampling, though Shake Shack has locations as close as Nashville.
Several locally owned establishments serve up their own versions of smash burgers, including Universal Joint, Scottie B’s Burgers, River Drifters and OddStory Brewing Co.
(READ MORE: Restaurants on the river: A guide to river dining in Chattanooga)
Chattanooga restaurants are adding options as customers cheer the sear of smash burgers
Smash burgers are still fairly new at Chattanooga’s Urban Stack. This alternative to the restaurant’s regular lineup of “Urban Classics” and “Specialty Stacks” debuted as a test run just before Chattanooga Burger Week in April, says Scott Alexander, director of operations for the Monen Family Restaurant Group.
“Every week, they are gaining in popularity,” he says. “We don’t have them on the menu yet, just relying on word of mouth, the servers [suggesting them] and a table stand that mentions it.”
Like their thicker counterparts, smash burgers can have limitless flavor profiles beyond the traditional tomato, lettuce, pickle and onion toppings.
One of Urban Stack’s options, the Big Kahuna, features ham, pineapple, green chilies, Swiss cheese, an apricot rum glaze and a chipotle mango mayonnaise among its ingredients.
Bag ‘Em Smashburgers‘ signature Mister burger “celebrates the flavors of the Midwest,” with a house olive chow-chow boosting the flavor.
Lo Main‘s Murder Burger tops its beef with an Indian-influenced garam masala mayonnaise.
Smash Boyz’ Thrasher includes jalapeño jack cheese, crispy fried onions, house-made Thrasher sauce and fresh jalapeños on the bottom. Likewise, the more conventional 2-Step “that everyone loves,” Steadman says, puts pickles on the bottom, caramelizes the onions and adds a house-made secret sauce.
With business booming, Steadman has ordered a food truck to replace the smaller trailer he’s been using. The extra space means that fries — or “friez” on the Smash Boyz menu — can be added as an alternative side to Grippo’s chips.
Although its origins are debated, the first smash burger is generally credited to a Dairy Cheer restaurant in Kentucky in the 1960s when a short-order cook flattened the meat using a can of beans. The debut of the eponymous restaurant Smashburger in 2007 renewed enthusiasm.
The popularity of these pancaked patties continues to surge on social media, with food bloggers, chefs and home cooks sharing recipes and techniques on Instagram and TikTok. Plus, the rise of flat-top griddles has enabled backyard grillers to give the patty a powerful push, without losing the meat through the grates. The website for the popular Blackstone line includes more than a dozen recipes for smash burgers.