Little Cheeseburger-style junior smash burger

Ingredients

burgers

• 400 g beef mince (20% fat)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

To assemble

• 4 small soft sesame-free buns
• 4 slices American cheese
• Shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 small tomato, sliced
• ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
• pickle slices
• Yellow mustard
• butter, for toasting

Method

1. Form burgers. Divide beef into 4 loose balls. press gently into discs slightly wider than the small buns.
2. Season. Salt and pepper both sides.
3. Sear. Heat a pan smoking hot. Smash burgers into the pan. Don’t move for 60 seconds.
4. Flip + cheese. Flip, lay 1 cheese slice on each burger. Cook 30 seconds more.
5. Toast buns. butter cut sides, toast in a pan until golden.
6. Assemble. bottom bun → mustard → onion → pickle → burger (cheese up) → lettuce → tomato → top bun.

Tips

• Single burger, single slice of cheese. Don’t over-engineer.
• The bun size matters. If you can’t find small buns, use dinner rolls.
• Same seasoning as the regular — just smaller portions.