Veal Smash Cheeseburger

Special Equipment

Large cast iron griddle or fry pan or grilling stone
Can be cooked indoors in a regular fry pan
Heavy duty spatula for smashing the burgers

Ingredients

3-2-1 SPG: salt, pepper, garlic
3 tbsp (45 mL) kosher salt
2 tbsp (30 mL) coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp (15 mL) granulated dried garlic

3-2-1 Maple Mustard
3 tbsp (45 mL) prepared yellow mustard
2 tbsp (30 mL) pure maple syrup
1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard
1 tsp (5 mL) sambal oelek (Indonesian crushed chili sauce) or ½ tsp (5 mL) crushed red chili flakes

Veal Smash Burger
2 lbs (1 kg) ground Ontario veal
1 medium sized sweet onion, peeled and super thinly sliced into rings
1 medium sized red onion, peeled and super thinly sliced into rings
2 tsp (10 mL) vegetable oil
SPG to taste
¼ cup (60 mL) softened butter, divided
8 soft hamburger buns
8 processed cheese slices (optional or your favourite melting cheese)
8 bread and butter pickle slices

Instructions

3-2-1 SPG: salt, pepper, garlic
In a small bowl combine the kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic. Mix well. Set aside.

3-2-1 Maple Mustard
In a small bowl combine yellow mustard, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and crushed chilies. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Veal Smash Burger
Form the ground veal into 8 equally sized 4-ounce burger balls. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour, to allow the meat to chill and rest.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the red and sweet sliced onions together. Drizzle with 2 tsp (10 mL) of vegetable oil and season to taste with the SPG. Divide into 8 equally sized piles. Set aside.

Separate the top from the bottom of the burger buns. Brush the cut side of each top and bottom with a ½ tsp (2 mL) of softened butter. Set aside.

Fire up your grill to approximately 400-450°F (200-230°C).

Season cast iron pan or griddle with a little vegetable oil or non-stick cooking spray. Place onto gas grill and heat for 10 minutes until a drop of water sizzles evaporates instantly…get it hot but not scorching hot.

Working quickly and in small batches (2 batches of 4 depending on how big your pan or griddle is), place a mound of sliced onions onto the hot pan. Place a ground veal burger ball on top of the onions and using your spatula press down/smash the burger ball so that it is flat. Season burger with the SPG, Repeat with another burger. Cook onions and burger for 3 to 5 minutes, flip them over, and add a knob of butter (about ¼ tsp [2 mL]) on top of each burger and season with a little more SPG. Continue to cook until lightly browned and fully cooked. The juices should be clear, and meat will be a brownish colour throughout with no pink showing. Top each burger with a slice of processed cheese and a sweet pickle. Remove from pan.

Place a butter bun top and bottom into the pan directly on top of where your burger was cooking and fry buns until golden brown and toasted. Place burger onto toasted bun bottom, drizzle with maple mustard, place bun top onto burger.

Chow down. It’s that good