Copycat Smashburger and Brussels Sprout Salad

The Burger at Heavy Handed, made for your home kitchen.

Let me start by saying, it’s really hard to take a great picture of a cheeseburger, it might be the hardest of all foods to shoot. If you go from above, you miss the layering intricacies. From the side, you’ve got to capture sauce and cheese in the most fluid state possible, which means there’s not much times. Lastly, if you don’t have colorful props (I don’t) then you’re left with a photo like this one, which is a B+ at best - the good news is that the burger is an A+ in actuality.

This past Wednesday my new show “Worth the Hype” premiered on Tastemade. The format is simple, I travel the country in search of the best bites out there. We started in LA, of the four spots I hit, Heavy Handed (burgers) is the only product I can copy, and We’ve nailed it! For the record the other spots were Holey Grail Doughnuts, Casablanca and Gjelina To Go. Each has incredible foods, but all require special ingredients and equipment that we don’t have access to. So a burger it is! To see where to watch Worth the Hype click here: https://www.tastemade.com/streaming

What’s really fun here, is that if you live in Los Angeles, you can go taste this burger and then with this recipe, recreate it at home - if anyone does this, let me know how close you think I/you got to the real thing!

A few notes:

1: I opted for slider sized buns, I’d rather have patties that are larger than then bun then buns that swallow a smaller diameter patty. remember, even if you smash to the same size as the bun, shrinkage will occur!

2: I use an 8” pan to smash the patty into the 12-14” pan, this gives us a large surface and because the smash pan (smaller pan) is room temp, you can put your hand right into the middle of it to really get your body weight into the smashing action. A spatula that is thick metal with no holes or slats can work, but you’ll need a rolling pin, meat tenderizer or some other sturdy object to press into the spatula patty. I think the pan is a better choice.

example:

©thermoworks

3: Smash immediately. before the patty cooks, before it’s even hot, this is when you want to press it into the cooking surface to create an amazing contact area that will caramelize and result in a flavorful, lacey even crispy surface. Just as you cannot squeeze moisture out of beef that you’re forming with your hands, you won’t loose any moisture if you smash the second it hits the grill - waiting means you’re cooking, and when you’re cooking the water in the meat heats up, and if you smash now, you will loose moisture.

4: ONLY SMASH THE FIRST SIDE! and do 80% of the cooking on this side.

5: There aren’t really degrees of doneness with this type of burger because the patty is so thin. Aim to get great caramelization, then if you like it juicier just kiss the second side for ten seconds or so, there may be the smallest amount of pink showing, but again the thinness and carryover cooking pretty much eliminate this in almost all situations.

The Double (Heavy Handed Copycat) (1 burger)

two 3oz balls of ground chuck

potato slider buns

1 slice of American cheese

Red Onion Mostarda (or cook 6 diced onions for 5 hours w/ butter and sugar for 6 servings)

sweet butter pickle (chips)

Heavy Sauce (makes 6 servings)

2TBSP Mayo

2TBSP Ketchup

1TBSP Sweet Relish

2tsp Worcestershire

1tsp Soy Sauce

equipment

14” carbon steel or cast iron or griddle.

8” fry pan or extremely strong spatula, with no holes and a something to press it with.

steps

Prepare the beef, make two 3oz balls for every burger you plan on making.

On the griddle, with a little bit of butter, toast both sides of the bun, remove to a plate.

Add about 1 tbsp of the heavy sauce to to the top bun, and 3 pickles on top of that.

add 1 tbsp of the red onion mostarda to the bottom bun.

Turn the heat to high.

Add salt and pepper directly to the griddle, place 1 ball on top of that, swiftly take your 8” pan and press hard down on the ball to form a patty, you can use your non-dominant hand to press inside of this smaller pan (it’s not hot don’t worry) make sure it’s thin and be done pressing in no more than 10 seconds. Gently lift the pan off, use a sturdy spatula if needed to help. Cook for 75 seconds, and flip (don’t press a second time) cook another 20 seconds, and remove to a plate.

Repeat with the second patty, when you flip this one, add the cheese on top and replace the first patty (smash side up) on top of the cheese. Cook for 20-30 seconds.

transfer the patties to the buns and serve.

Honey Mustard Brussels Sprout Salad

1 pound brussel sprouts, halved.

2tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1tbsp smoked paprika

1 blood orange, sliced into discs, or cubed apple.

1/2 cup candied walnuts, pecans or honey cashews.

for the dressing:

1tbsp dijon mustard

2tbsp honey

2tbsp olive oil

1tbsp sherry vinegar

salt and pepper

equipment:

air fryer

medium mixing bowl

small mason jar with lid

steps:

Cut each Brussels sprout in half, add to a mixing bowl with olive oil, salt pepper and paprika.

Mix well and add to the air fryer, single layer of Brussels please!

Cook on a high air fry cycle for about 8 minutes or until really nice and golden, even charred.

in the mason jar combine the dressing ingredients and shake well.

remove the brussels from the air fryer, slice them into shavings, return them to the mixing bowl, add the fruit and the dressing.

plate in a nice high pile, add the nuts on top.