Indulge in the ultimate cheat day delight with our Smash Burger Taco! This innovative dish combines a rich blend of brisket and chorizo patties, prepared Oklahoma Onion Smash Burger-style with crispy, caramelized onions. Topped with melted cheese and fresh ingredients like crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and tangy pickles, these patties are nestled in soft tortillas, creating a delicious fusion of a burger and a taco. Perfect for satisfying your cravings, our Smash Burger Taco offers a flavorful and indulgent treat for any occasion. This recipe is an all-time favorite here at ATBBQ.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Salting the onions draws out water before they ever hit the griddle. Massaging kosher salt into the paper-thin onion slices and letting them sit for 30 minutes pulls out excess moisture, so they caramelize instead of steaming once they're on the patty.
- The cheese "skirt" isn't just for looks. Sprinkling cheese around the edges of the smashed patty and letting it crisp into a lacy border gives every bite a crunchy edge alongside the melted center.
- The tortilla toasts directly on the meat. Flipping the patty-and-cheese stack so the tortilla lands on the cooler side of the griddle lets it lightly toast while soaking up flavor from the cheese and beef underneath.
- Two sauces do two different jobs. The bright, acidic pico cuts through the richness while the green chile crema adds a cooling, creamy layer — together they balance the heaviness of the smashed beef-and-chorizo patty.
Smash Burger Tacos
Tom Jackson
Rated 4.4 stars by 5 users
Category
Main Course
Cuisine
American
Servings
12
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Calories
422
The perfect recipe for your cheat day is this flavor-packed Smash Burger Taco. This wonderfully decadent dish combines two of our favorite foods. Brisket and chorizo blended patties are cooked in the Oklahoma Onion Smash Burger style, covered in cheese, wrapped in a tortilla, then topped with fresh ingredients. A must try!
Ingredients
- 12 small flour tortillas (street taco size)
- 1 lb pepper jack cheese, grated
- 1 lb Creekstone ground beef pucks
- 8 oz Chorizo
-
Cattleman’s Grill Road House Beef Seasoning
- 2 each large yellow onions, sliced as thin as possible
-
1 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Salt
- 3 cups romaine lettuce, shredded thin
- Avocado
- Lime wedges
- 1 cup tomato, small dice
- 1/4 cup red onion, small dice
- 2 tbsp jalapeno, minced
- 2 tbsp cilantro, minced
- 2 tbsp lime juice
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Infused Salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup canned hatch chiles
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp Yellowbird Serrano Hot Sauce
For the pico de gallo
Green Chile crema
Directions
- Preheat one half of your Halo 4B Griddle over medium heat. Leave the burners off on the other half.
- Mix the chorizo and beef in a bowl. Portion the mixture into 2 oz balls. Refrigerate.
- Slice the onions very thin on a mandoline/vegetable slicer. Place in a bowl with one teaspoon of Jacobsen Salt Co. Kosher Sea Salt. Massage the salt into the onions and let soak while you prep the remaining components. After about 30 minutes, squeeze the water out of onions, and discard the liquid.
- To make the Pico, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- To make the Crema, combine all ingredients in a pint sized mason jar. Insert an immersion blender, and blend until smooth.
- When you’re ready to cook your burgers, first spray the griddle with avocado spray. Place the 2 oz balls of chorizo/beef mixture on griddle, four at a time. Top the burger with the thin sliced onions. Smash the patty thin and wide. Season with Cattleman’s Grill Road House. Put a nice dark crust on the bottom of the patty, then flip.
- Sprinkle cheese on and around the edges of patty. Place a tortilla on top of cheese. Put a nice crust on the onions and cook until a cheese skirt is formed around the edges. Flip so that the tortilla is on bottom, and transfer to cool side of the grill. Cook until lightly toasted, then remove.
- Top each smash burger taco with slices of avocado, shredded lettuce, pico and crema. Serve with a lime wedge and drizzle of hot sauce.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why salt the onions and let them sit for 30 minutes?
Massaging salt into the thinly sliced onions draws out their water content. Squeezing that liquid out before cooking means the onions caramelize on the griddle instead of releasing steam that would keep the patty from developing a good crust.
Why smash the patty thin and wide instead of keeping it thick?
A thin, wide patty has more surface area in direct contact with the hot griddle, which builds a deep, dark crust fast — that crust is the whole point of the smash burger style.
Why sprinkle cheese around the edges of the patty, not just on top?
Letting cheese spread past the edge of the patty and crisp directly on the griddle creates a lacy, crunchy "skirt" that adds texture you wouldn't get from cheese melted only on top.
Why toast the tortilla on the meat side of the griddle instead of separately?
Flipping the whole stack so the tortilla lands on the griddle lets it pick up flavor from the rendered fat and toast lightly at the same time, rather than needing a separate warming step.
What internal temperature should the beef and chorizo patty reach?
This recipe doesn't list one, but since it's ground beef and ground pork, cooking to at least 160°F internal is the safe target — smash-style thin patties typically reach that quickly given how much surface area is in contact with the hot griddle.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — any flat-top griddle or even a large cast iron skillet on a stovetop will replicate this technique closely; the outdoor griddle is a convenience, not a requirement.
Recipe Highlights
Salting and squeezing the onions: Drawing moisture out before cooking is what lets the onions caramelize on the griddle instead of steaming and preventing a good crust from forming underneath.
The thin, wide smash technique: Flattening the patty maximizes contact with the hot griddle, building the deep sear that defines this style of burger.
The crispy cheese skirt: Letting cheese extend past the patty's edge and crisp directly on the griddle adds a textural contrast beyond just melted cheese on top.
Flipping to toast the tortilla: Moving the stack so the tortilla makes direct griddle contact toasts it lightly while it absorbs flavor from the meat and cheese above.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 1 taco
- per serving
- Calories
- 422
- Fat
- 25 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 13 grams
- Cholesterol
- 91 milligrams
- Sodium
- 978 milligrams
- Carbs
- 20 grams
- Fiber
- 1 grams
- Sugar
- 2 grams
- Protein
- 28 grams
