Will Drake knows the ins and outs of hamburgers. Not only are they the most popular dish on the menu at his multistate locations, Hero Donuts and BunsThe Homewood resident is also a former butcher.

If there's anyone to ask for advice on throwing a burger party this Memorial Day weekend (or any other occasion), it's Drake, who recently shared his tips for making the ultra-trendy smash burger.

He says smashburgers are great for feeding a crowd because they cook faster and more thoroughly than a thicker, traditional patty, a must-have for people who don't want even a tiny bit of red meat in the middle, which traditional patties need to be careful not to make tough and dry.

In general, simplicity is key when it comes to creating a burger: “Let the beef sing. Everything else is backing vocals,” says Drake, who also serves as the drummer in his touring band.

For smashburgers in particular, try cooking them in a cast-iron skillet to keep the patty from falling off the grates every time you touch the meat. Even better, pre-smash the patty before taking it outside. Drake uses a tortilla press, available at markets that specialize in Mexican food.

“You'll need a pile of patty papers,” he says. “You'll need two sheets of patty paper and four ounces of meat. You'll just press it between the papers in a tortilla press, and it will be pretty thin.”

Here are Will's tips on everything from buying beef to his favorite seasonings.

Choose your beef

The standard meat-to-fat ratio for a burger is 80/20 (80% lean, 20% fat), but more fat reduces shrinkage during cooking, so Drake prefers a 75/25 or 70/30 blend. Traditional burgers are 6 ounces each; smash patties call for 4 ounces each, but Drake likes to stack two patties on one bun. The better the meat, the better the resulting burger.

Making the Putty

There is no need to season the meat before forming the patties. The goal is to taste the meat, not mask its flavor. When forming the patties, manipulate the meat as little as possible. Make the patties a little larger than the buns to allow for shrinkage during cooking.

If making thicker burgers, carefully form the patties to 1/2- to 3/4-inch thickness. Making an indentation in the center of one side will help the meat better maintain its shape and texture while cooking.

Grilling Tips

Using a flat-top griddle or cast-iron skillet on your grill works well for traditional burgers as well as smashed versions, as these surfaces allow the meat to cook evenly.

Just before grilling, generously season both sides of the patties with salt and pepper. Thicker burgers will cook evenly on both sides, but smashburgers will overcook if cooked this way. Grill smashburgers until crisp on one side, then flip the patties and immediately add the cheese. Remove the burgers from the grill as soon as the cheese is melted.

cheese

Drake prefers old-fashioned Kraft American cheese on his burgers: While cheddar can be greasy, American melts quickly and “doesn't add a lot of greasiness or heaviness,” he says.

Buns

At Hero, Drake uses homemade brioche buns from his own bakery, but if he buys buns at the grocery store, he buys Martin's Famous Potato Buns, toasting both halves on the grill.

onion

Many people are put off by the taste of raw onions, so to make the Double-Stack Smashburger, Hero puts thinly sliced ​​onions (they slice them ultra-thin with a slicer) between the two patties as they come off the grill. The onions are steamed, which “eliminates all the raw onion flavor that people don't like,” Drake says.

seasoning

Burgers need acidity to cut through the fat in the meat and cheese — pickles and mustard do that — and mayonnaise adds fat, but lemon adds acidity.

Or make a spread with mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper, and your favorite seasonings, like Worcestershire sauce and vinegar. (Hero's Cracked Sauce uses Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar, and the mayonnaise is from Duke's. The other ingredients are closely guarded secrets.)

The ketchup adds more sweetness than Drake prefers on his burger, but that's a matter of personal preference. Ultimately, the hero's most popular sandwich is the Dad Burger, smothered in sweet and salty bacon jam.

Courtesy of SoulGrown Alabama.