What burger style is made with a thin beef patty pressed onto a hot griddle?

A smash burger is made with a thin beef patty pressed onto a hot griddle.

The cooking method starts with a loose ball of ground beef rather than a thick, pre-shaped patty. The ball is placed on a very hot cooking surface and firmly pressed down, increasing contact between the meat and the metal. This produces a thin patty with browned, crisp edges and a strongly seared surface.

Smash burgers became especially prominent in the United States during the 2000s and 2010s, when both independent restaurants and expanding chains built menus around the technique. The word can describe a cooking style, while Smashburger is also the name of a restaurant chain founded in Denver in 2007.

The pressure is normally applied early in cooking. Repeatedly pressing a patty after it has cooked can squeeze out juices, but the defining action is the initial smash that creates broad griddle contact. A smash burger is therefore identified by technique and texture, not by one fixed topping combination.