Smash burgers are balls of ground beef that are then pressed or smashed with a burger press (or in my case a spatula) into a thin patty as soon as they hit the grill. This creates extra browning and flavour on the outside while maintaining the patty’s juiciness.

While they are a little bit more effort than buying ready made – they’re a fun activity to do with the kids (for instance). I like to layer them with cheese, salad and our smoky jalapeno relish. As an added treat, I serve them with our homemade onion rings.

Ingredients

Burgers

Makes 4

500g packet of minced beef (15% fat is good as you want that for flavour)

2 tsp garlic powder

1 small onion grated finely

1 teaspoon Salt & Pepper (or added to taste)

4 burger buns

1 large tomato sliced

Butterhead lettuce

Half small red onion sliced into thin rings

Manfood Burger Sauce

4 slices cheese of your choice

Method

In a bowl, add your beef, garlic powder, salt, pepper and onion. Using your hands, carefully mix together, to ensure everything is evenly distributed. If you want to check the seasoning on your meat, you can take a little ball of mince and fry in a pan and taste it.

Divide the mince into 8 even portions, then cover and refrigerate while you prepare your salad.

Heat up a griddle pan to a medium heat. Place 2-4 burger balls onto hot griddle. Working quickly, place parchment paper over the meat and firmly smash straight down into a thin patty. Once patties are smashed, peel back and discard parchment papers. Cook for 2 minutes on the first side or until seared and juices start to come to the surface.

Using a spatula, flip the burgers. Cook for another minute, then top half of the patties with sliced cheese and sandwich with the second patty. Repeat with remaining burgers and transfer them to a platter as they finish cooking.

Toast your buns. At this point you can also butter them if you wish.

Assemble the burgers by adding a dollop of burger sauce, then top with salad, tomato and onion. Finally add your double patty, a dollop of Smoky Jalapeno Relish and top with the bun.

Onion rings

Ingredients

2 brown onions peeled and sliced into rings

1 cup plain flour

½ cup rice flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Soda or tonic water

Oil for frying

Method

In a bowl, and your flours and baking powder, then slowly whisk in tonic water until you have a thick batter. It should resemble natural yoghurt. Pop in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. You will get a crispier batter if your mix is very cold when it goes into the fryer.

When you’re ready to cook, fill a saucepan or small wok with neutral oil (I use rapeseed). You want a depth of about 2 inches. Heat the oil up under a medium heat. It’s ready to fry when a wooden skewer inserted into the oil gives a steady stream of bubbles.

Working a few at a time, dip your onion rings into the batter, then carefully drop into the hot oil. Don’t overcrowd the pan, as this will make the temperature drop. Don’t touch the rings for at least 2 mins, as you need to allow the batter to set. Flip over, then fry until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon or spider strainer, remove from the oil and pour onto kitchen paper. While the rings are hot, season with a little salt to taste.

Carry on frying the remaining rings, then serve with your burgers.

If you are not confident about managing two pans at once, you can make these before and keep them warm in the oven, but they won’t be quite as crispy.