A smashed burger, on the other hand, tends to be made from a loosely packed ball of ground beef, placed on a hot grill and pressed firmly into a thin patty with a spatula or cast iron press.

They tend to be held in this press for at least ten seconds for a proper sear – with a telltale almost burned look on both sides indicating ready to eat-ness. 

The smashing aspect of this process achieves something referred to as the Maillard reaction.

This causes a form of browning resulting from increased contact between amino acids and reducing sugars in the meat – catalysed by scorching heat. 

While cooking a smashed burger, a higher surface area of the meat is pressed, grilled and browned, yielding more Maillard goodness – and more intense flavours.

Okay, so for all intents and purposes, you were right, it’s a burger that’s been smashed. 

They’ve only recently swept into popularity on Maltese shores, but smashed burgers have been in existence for over 15 years. A US restauranteur  named Bill Culvertson coined the term when an employee used a can of beans to smash a burger cooking on a grill. 

Culvertson and his team of culinary pioneers unlocked new flavour possibilities for a more intense burger experience.

With the idea spreading across the world, it was inevitably going to reach Malta so we’ve curated a list of five joints serving smashed burgers that meat lovers won’t want to miss.

1. Danny’s Malta

2. Ricky’s Jr Smash Burger

3. Novi Burger

4. Hungry Horse Malta

5. Detroit Style Pizza Malta

Tag someone who should reward their tastebuds with some sizzlin’ beef