Chef Tom's recipe for his Oklahoma Onion Smash Burger tastes like pure fire-kissed perfection right off the grill.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Salting the sliced onions and wringing out the liquid before cooking removes excess moisture, so they caramelize on the griddle instead of steaming
- Smashing the beef thin with a spatula, then pressing the onions directly into the meat, fuses the two together into one seared layer rather than two separate toppings
- Warming the top bun over the melting cheese while the patties finish cooking gets it soft and ready without needing a separate toasting step
- Building the burger as two stacked patties, each with its own bun half, lets the whole double cheeseburger come together as one motion instead of assembling four separate layers at the end
Oklahoma Onion Smash Burger
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 13 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
4
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Calories
607
Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill for the mouth watering Oklahoma Onion Smash Burger, cooked on the griddle inside the grill.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb ground brisket, divided into 8 (3 oz) balls
-
Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-tip Seasoning
- 2 large onions, sliced as thin as possible
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt
- 8 slices American cheese
- 4 potato burger buns
-
Kozlik’s Dijon Classique Mustard
-
Holme’s Made Dad’s Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles
Directions
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 500° F, with the Yoder Smokers cast iron griddle in place over the fire box, smooth side up.
- Place your thin sliced onions in a bowl with a shake of Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt and toss to coat. Let rest 20-30 minutes. Pull the onions out of the bowl and ring out the excess moisture, leaving the liquid behind in the bowl.
- Spread the bottom half of the potato buns with Kozlik’s Dijon Classique Mustard.
- Place each ball of ground beef on the griddle, pressing out with your fingers, then smashing with a spatula, as thin as possible.
- Season with Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-tip Seasoning, then top with a handful of sliced onions. Press the onions into the beef with the spatula.
- As soon as the bottom is seared, flip the burger. Season again with the Cattleman’s Grill California Tri-tip Seasoning and top with a slice of cheese.
Place the top of the potato bun on the cheese on one patty. Place the bottom of the potato bun on the top bun, to warm. Place pickles on top of a second patty. These two patties will stack on top of one another for a double cheeseburger.
- When the cheese is melted and the bottom of the patties are seared. Place the patty with the pickles on top of the bottom bun. Place the patty with the top bun on the pickle patty.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why salt the sliced onions and wring out the liquid before cooking them?
Salting draws moisture out of the onions, and wringing that liquid out afterward means they hit the griddle already dry. Onions with excess moisture would steam instead of caramelizing properly.
Why press the onions directly into the beef with a spatula instead of adding them on top?
Pressing them in fuses the onions into the meat itself as it sears, creating one combined layer of flavor and texture rather than a topping that could slide off.
Why place the top bun over the melting cheese while the patties are still cooking?
Resting the bun there lets it warm and soften from the cheese's residual heat, giving it a ready-to-eat texture without a separate toasting step on the griddle.
Why build this as two stacked patties instead of one thicker one?
Two thin, smashed patties develop more total seared surface area than a single thick patty would, and stacking them with pickles between preserves that crust throughout the double cheeseburger.
What internal temperature should the burger patties actually reach?
This recipe never states a target temperature anywhere, relying only on "seared" and "cheese melted" as doneness cues. Ground beef needs to reach a minimum internal temperature of 160°F to be safe check with an instant-read thermometer rather than judging by color or cheese melt alone.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
5 out of 5 this comes together entirely on a flat-top griddle or in a large skillet on the stovetop; nothing about the technique requires an outdoor grill.
Recipe Highlights
Salted, wrung-out onions: Removes moisture so they caramelize instead of steaming.
Onion-pressed patties: Fuses the onions into the meat as one seared layer.
Cheese-warmed bun: Softens the top bun without a separate toasting step.
Stacked double build: Assembles the whole burger in one motion rather than four separate layers.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 13.13 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 607
- Carbs
- 36 grams
- Protein
- 43 grams
- Fat
- 32 grams
- Sodium
- 1280 milligrams
