Make one of New York City's hottest burgers at home
Learn how to make Mike Puma's smash burgers at home.
Mike Puma is a burger connoisseur who traded in finance for flat tops, and pursued his passion by creating a huge following with his perfectly seared burgers at pop-ups around New York City. Those burgers have now found a permanent home at his new restaurant, Gotham Burger Social Club.
Puma recently dropped by "GMA3" to share his Gotham smash burgers and "frickles" recipes.
Scroll below to find out how you can make them at home!
Gotham Smash Burger
Ingredients
4-ounce burger patties
1/2 sweet onion, sliced
2 slices American cheese
3 pickles
2 jalapeños
1 tablespoon salted butter
Martin's Potato Buns
Salt and pepper
Secret sauce: Use Thousand Island dressing or mix together mayo, mustard, ketchup, relish, onion powder, garlic and paprika
Directions
Start with a griddle or flat top. No butter is needed since the beef has enough fat.
Make two 3-ounce meatballs with beef. Use an 80/20 blend of ground chuck, short rib and brisket.
Slice your onions razer thin so they cook through and get crispy.
Place the onions generously over the meat. Place both on griddle or flat top to cook.
Let it cook for a couple of minutes.
Place butter on the buns, and place the buns on the griddle or flat top until golden brown.
Smash the meat into thin patties with a press or sturdy metal spatula. If you don't have either, you can use parchment paper to prevent sticking and can use anything heavy to press the burgers.
Season the patties with a few pinches of salt and one pinch of pepper.
Continue cooking the patties until the edges are caramelized, then flip.
Top each patty with a slice of American cheese. Cook until the bottoms are caramelized and the cheese is melty.
Remove patties from griddle or flat top and stack on potato bun.
Add ketchup, mustard or secret sauce, and other toppings (like pickles or jalapeños). Serve and enjoy.
Frickles
Ingredients
1 dozen dill pickle chips
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons salt + 1/2 teaspoon for dry dredge
3 teaspoons pepper + 1/2 teaspoon for dry dredge
3 teaspoons paprika + 1/2 teaspoon for dry dredge
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups seltzer
2 cup panko
1/4 cup canola oil
Ranch for dipping
Directions
Combine 1 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon paprika.
In a separate bowl, combine two cups flour with remaining salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and seltzer to make batter. Whisk together until smooth.
Add panko bread crumbs to a bowl.
Add oil to a pan and heat to 300-350 F.
Dredge the pickles in flour. Dip in batter and then coat with panko.
Add pickles to the pan for a couple minutes and fry until golden brown.
Plate and serve with dipping sauce of your choice.