Full disclosure: My freezer is perpetually bursting at the seams (#foodeditorthings), so I thawed my smash burgers before cooking them, even though they ideally should be cooked from frozen. Davison didn’t thaw hers; that’s why my patties oxidized and turned brown in the package and hers were still pink when they hit the grill. I also don’t have an outdoor cooking space, so I cooked mine in a cast iron skillet indoors, while she took to the barbecue.
The main thing we agree on is the quality of the meat. The beef itself was super savory, rich and moist, despite its thinness. “Most frozen patties taste like dry hockey pucks; this was incredibly juicy, fresh and flavorful,” Davison adds.
Furthermore, they really did cook in a flash. Mine only took about four minutes due to having thawed, while Davison’s took a bit longer. “The easy-open packages were, indeed, easy to unseal and pop out the patties (no leaking, no fuss), and like the directions stated, you could pop the patties onto a hot grill for three minutes, flip and add cheese, then let them sit for another three minutes,” Davison adds. “It was fast, easy and zero stress.”
The one con? Neither of us got that craggy, crunchy, lacy smash burger crispness that a griddle essentially guarantees. In my case, I used a cast iron skillet on high heat as the closest substitute. Even after pressing the meat into the pan, most of the caramelization was at the edges. I’m thinking if I hadn’t thawed them first, they would have turned out flatter (the burgers puffed a bit in the center, due to collagen shrinkage and the meat’s proteins contracting; this caused each side of the patty to have less direct contact with the pan).
“While it made for one heck of a double cheeseburger, I will say that without a griddle, I felt like I couldn't get quite the crispy edges and intense caramelization that I’m used to with a true smash burger,” Davison attests. “I wasn’t mad about it—sometimes, the edges on those are borderline crunchy, which I don’t love—but it’s worth noting for hardcore smash burger fans.”
