Savory Dinner Ideas for Grilling in 2026

I make smashburgers on steel frequently. The work is getting your hamburger bar together: chopped pickles, onions, cheese, special sauce.

Get your frying pan or steel ripping hot. We're preparing these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you want it yelling hot for that Maillard reaction, the sear that makes smashburgers legendary.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash hamburgers on this thing that individuals still speak about. Smashburgers in your home are off the charts. Here's how I do it. More area equals more taste. Smashing the beef thin takes full advantage of contact with the hot steel, setting off the Maillard response, the chemical process that develops that deep, mouthwatering, browned taste we all yearn for.

Your very first burger and your fourth get the same extraordinary edge-to-edge crust without the temperature level dropping. I 'd understand my household has remained in the steel business for over 50 years at our store in Hanover, MA. I understand this product, and I constructed these frying pans specifically to fix the heat retention problem that cast iron can't.

Advanced Flat-Top Strategies for 2026 Summer Grilling

Let it pre-heat for 10-15 minutes up until it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the exact same concept behind our pizza steels pack the steel with heat, and it does the work for you.

Season the smashed patties generously with kosher salt and fresh black pepper. Cook for 60-90 seconds.

Cook for another 30-45 seconds to melt the cheese. Quickly toast your buns on a cooler part of the frying pan for 15-20 seconds.

Creating Savory Menus with Signature Burgers

Cheese melting completely on the Mini Griddle Cast iron is the conventional option for smashburgers, and it works. After evaluating both side-by-side for over a years, I switched to steel.

I understand how it shops and transfers heat in a way a lot of individuals never consider. That understanding is precisely what led me to develop the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I designed the Skinny Griddle particularly for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the distinction: That means it recovers temperature much faster in between hamburgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

You get the same screaming-hot crust on your first hamburger and your 4th. Simply cook, scrape, wipe clean. I've tested cast iron, stainless steel, and every griddle on the market.

Want to take your smashburger game outside? Position your Baking Steel Original directly on your outside grill grates. Pre-heat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your burgers right on the steel. You get the exact same extraordinary crust with the added advantage of outside cooking which subtle smoky flavor from the grill.

How to Master the Flat-Top: Professional Burger Techniques

Friends lose their minds when they see it. They walk up expecting routine grilled hamburgers and instead they see me smashing patties on a slab of American-made steel on the grill. It's a whole thing. Perfect smash hamburgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outdoor grill I created each of these for a specific usage case.

It fits on a single burner and is ideal for families or hamburger night with good friends. Same heat retention, smaller footprint. Use it in the oven for pizza, or take it outside and location it on your grill for smashburgers, steaks, and more.