Smash Burger
Bareburger’s nod to the smash trend: a thin dry-aged Angus patty pressed hard for a crusty edge, with American cheese, caramelised onion, pickle and special sauce on a potato bun. It is smaller and more classic than the rest of the menu, and one of the best-value orders.
The story
Pressing a ball of beef flat on a hot griddle is one of the oldest ways to cook a hamburger. Early American burgers sold at fairs and factories were thin patties pushed into the pan for speed, and in the Depression the technique stretched meat further. Diners in Indiana and Kentucky both claim long smash-burger histories. The flattening maximises the browning reaction, so a thin patty gets a deep, savoury crust. Fast-casual chains revived it in the 2000s and 2010s, and by the early 2020s it was the burger of the moment worldwide.
What’s inside
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Smash Burger yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef, a special sauce and cheese
McDonald's Big Mac (Copycat) - Shares beef and cheese
Baby You Can Chive My Car - Shares beef, cooked onions and cheese
Fat Mimolette Bacon & Fried Onion Burger - Shares beef and cheese
TOP 2McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese (Copycat)
Variations
The Smash Burger, taken somewhere it was never meant to go.
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Smash Burger.- Burger Lounge · beef, cooked onions, a special sauce and cheese
The S.O.B. “Son of a Butcher” - Better Burger · beef, cooked onions, a special sauce and cheese
SignatureSmashed Double Cheeseburger - Big Boy · beef, cooked onions, a special sauce and cheese
Patty Melt - Peter Pane · beef, cooked onions, a special sauce and cheese
Holzfäller
More from Bareburger
About Bareburger
Bareburger began as burgers cooked in the cramped kitchen of Sputnik, a music venue in Brooklyn. Euripides Pelekanos and his partners, his brother among them, moved into a run-down former bakery in Astoria, Queens, in 2009 and opened a forty-seat restaurant. Within a month the dining room was packed, the place paid for itself in ten months, and they started franchising almost immediately.
Restaurants mostly in New York City and the surrounding states.
Not affiliated with Bareburger. Trademarks belong to their owners.