A great smash patty starts long before it hits the grill. We use grass-fed chuck with an 80/20 lean-to-fat ratio, ground fresh every morning and never seasoned until the moment it meets the heat.
The technique is simple but unforgiving: a screaming-hot plancha, a firm press for the first ten seconds, and then hands off. That hard sear builds the caramelised crust — the Maillard reaction doing its best work — while the inside stays juicy.
We smash to just under a centimetre, season with flaky salt and cracked pepper, flip once, and finish with cheddar so it melts into every craggy edge. Two minutes, start to finish. Anything longer and you are steaming the meat, not searing it.
Try it at home, or skip the smoke alarm and let us do it for you — the Farmhouse Double Stack uses this exact method, twice.