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Prep Time1 hour
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Cook Time10 minutes
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Serving2
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The onions are what make these burgers special. Buy white onions and use your mandoline to slice them tissue paper thin. Wring as much water out of them as possible. They will be amazing when they cook in the burger-fat and caramelize on the hot grill.
It was pure coincidence that I was watching The Smashing Machine (2025) with Dwayne Johnson on the Friday night I was grilling smash burgers with onions. I enjoyed the movie AND the double-smashed-onion-cheeseburger that I grilled on my gas grill. With double fried French fries, no less. It was a good pairing: a macho, indulgent burger with a macho, excessively violent movie. The movie and the burger felt like “guilty pleasure” experiences. The burger was dripping with cheese and burger-juice, slipping through my fingers and turning into a beautiful sloppy mess. Of course, it took hours to make those fries (recipe on this site) and every minute was worth it. It was a good Friday night!
Ingredients
Onion Smash Burgers
Directions
Prepare the onions first: Slice them PAPER TISSUE THIN on a mandoline without slicing off a fingertip (that's important as I have been to the ER as a result of a mandoline mishap). When you have a little pile of onions, put them in a towel in a small bowl. Then squeeze as much moisture out of them as possible. Set aside.
Make round balls of the beef -- these are bigger than golf balls and smaller than baseballs. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat the gas grill to a high temperature. Heat up a black seasoned skillet until the surface is searing hot. Put the burger-balls on the skillet and lay the onions on top of the burgers. Smash everything down. I used another heavier black skillet that was very well seasoned to the point it was non-stick. Cover the grill and let the burgers cook for about 3 minutes.
After about 3 minutes, open the grill and flip the burgers with a spatula. The onions are scattering by now and starting to caramelize. Cook the burgers 3 or 4 more minutes depending on the heat of your grill. Place a slice of cheese on each burger. You can melt the cheese while the burgers are on the grill or remove them to a platter and place in the oven for a few minutes.
Assemble the burgers with whatever accompaniments you like: I made double patty burgers with lettuce and tomato, mayo and catsup. A classic. The onions are what make these burgers special and delicious. The fries on the side take this dinner over the top. Enjoy with a robust red wine and a good movie in the background.
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