Flavorful Dinner Ideas for Grilling in 2026

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

Get your griddle or steel ripping hot. You have to work quickly. We're preparing these for 30-60 seconds per side, and you desire it shrieking hot for that Maillard reaction, the sear that makes smashburgers famous. I love to smash for friends. The majority of the time, they have actually currently had our Baking Steel pizza, and I like to blend up the menu.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I have actually made smash hamburgers on this thing that people still speak about. Smashburgers at home are off the charts. Here's how I do it. More area equates to more taste. Smashing the beef thin optimizes contact with the hot steel, activating the Maillard reaction, the chemical procedure that produces that deep, savory, browned flavor we all crave.

Your very first hamburger and your 4th get the exact same incredible edge-to-edge crust without the temperature level dropping. I 'd know my household has actually remained in the steel company for over 50 years at our shop in Hanover, MA. I comprehend this material, and I built these frying pans specifically to resolve the heat retention problem that cast iron can't.

Flavorful Dinner Secrets for Grilling in 2026

Let it preheat for 10-15 minutes up until it's ripping hot (around 500-550F). This is the very same principle behind our pizza steels load 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. Briefly toast your buns on a cooler part of the griddle for 15-20 seconds.

Mastering the Flat-Top: Best Burger Methods

Cheese melting perfectly on the Mini Frying pan Cast iron is the standard option for smashburgers, and it works. After evaluating both side-by-side for over a decade, I changed to steel.

I comprehend how it stores and transfers heat in a manner a lot of individuals never believe about. That understanding is precisely what led me to invent the Baking Steel in 2012, and it's why I developed the Skinny Frying pan specifically for stovetop cooking like this. Here's the distinction: That means it recuperates temperature level faster in between hamburgers.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Steel doesn't drop. You get the very same screaming-hot crust on your very first hamburger and your fourth. It warms up faster and distributes heat more uniformly. No locations, no cold areas. Just consistent, edge-to-edge browning. No spices, no babying. Just cook, scrape, wipe tidy. I've evaluated cast iron, stainless steel, and every frying pan on the marketplace.

Pre-heat the grill and steel for 15-20 minutes on high heat, then smash your hamburgers right on the steel. You get the exact same unbelievable crust with the added advantage of outside cooking and that subtle smoky flavor from the grill.

Crucial Tips for The Best Summer Dinner Sides

Buddies lose their minds when they see it. They walk up anticipating regular grilled hamburgers and rather they see me smashing patties on a piece of American-made steel on the grill. It's an entire thing. Perfect smash hamburgers made on the Baking Steel Original on an outdoor grill I designed each of these for a specific use case.

It fits on a single burner and is perfect for households or hamburger night with buddies. is compact and perfect for 1-2 burgers. It's excellent for little cooking areas, houses, or solo cooking. Very same heat retention, smaller sized footprint. is the one that began it all. Use it in the oven for pizza, or take it outside and location it on your grill for smashburgers, steaks, and more.