Just Start with Burger Making
A great burger is not complicated, but it is precise. The right beef blend, a screaming hot surface, the correct smash timing, a soft bun that can hold up to the juices: each element is simple on its own, but getting them all right at once is what separates a forgettable patty from something worth building your weekends around. Home grinding gives you control over the fat ratio and texture. Smash technique gives you the lacy, crispy edges that no restaurant drive-through can match. And once you start baking your own brioche buns and mixing your own sauce, you realize the whole process is a craft worth mastering.
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The Great American Burger Book (Expanded and Updated Edition)
George Motz · 336 pages · 2023 · Easy
Themes: smash burgers, regional burgers, grinding techniques, burger history, grilling
The definitive burger cookbook, written by the man the New York Times called “the foremost authority on hamburgers.” George Motz spent decades traveling the United States documenting regional burger traditions for his film Hamburger America, and this expanded edition distills that obsessive research into a 336-page guide that covers every technique from smashing to deep-frying.
Why Start Here
Most burger cookbooks give you a handful of recipes and call it a day. Motz goes deeper. Each chapter is built around a specific regional style, from the thin, crispy Oklahoma onion burger to the butter-griddled Wisconsin burger to the loose-meat tavern burgers of Iowa. You learn not just the recipe but the history: why the technique developed, what makes it work, and how to replicate it at home with equipment you already own.
The expanded edition adds 25 new recipes, including an international section covering burger styles from Brazil, Denmark, Malaysia, and Turkey. Motz covers traditional grilling, smashing, steaming, poaching, and even deep-frying. The smash burger section alone is worth the price of the book. He walks you through meat selection (the 80/20 ratio and why it matters), grinding your own blend at home using chuck, short rib, and brisket, and the exact moment to press the patty for maximum crust without losing moisture.
Beyond the patties, Motz includes recipes for buns, sauces, and toppings that complete each regional style. The writing is enthusiastic without being fussy, and the step-by-step instructions assume no prior experience.
What to Expect
A substantial 336-page hardcover with color photography throughout. The book is organized by regional burger style, so you can read it cover to cover as a burger history tour or skip straight to the techniques that interest you most. The ingredients are straightforward grocery-store staples. You will want a cast-iron skillet or flat griddle, a sturdy spatula, and ideally a meat grinder attachment for your stand mixer, though Motz provides workarounds for every setup. Difficulty ranges from dead-simple smash burgers you can master in ten minutes to more involved projects like steamed cheeseburgers that require a bit of specialized gear.
Alternatives
Adam Walton & Brett Walton · 144 pages · 2023 · Easy
A focused, practical guide to smash burgers and griddle sandwiches from Adam and Brett Walton, the identical twins known as the Waltwins on YouTube. Their channel has racked up tens of millions of views with a simple formula: hot griddle, cold beef, hard press, incredible results. This book captures that energy in 60 recipes that go well beyond the basic cheeseburger.
Why Start Here
If you already know you want to make smash burgers and you want to get cooking fast, this is your book. At 144 pages, it wastes no time on filler. The Waltons cover the essential technique early, then spiral outward through creative variations: Rocky Mountain smash burgers, mushroom and Swiss smash burgers, black bean veggie smashes, chicken sandwiches, fish sandwiches, and even breakfast and dessert smashes.
The recipes are built around the outdoor griddle (also called a flattop or Blackstone), but every one works on a cast-iron skillet or heavy pan indoors. The Waltons write the way they talk on their channel: direct, fun, and completely unpretentious. Each recipe is self-contained and quick, most coming together in under 20 minutes.
What to Expect
A compact 144-page paperback with color photos throughout. This is a narrowly focused book. It does not cover grinding your own meat, baking buns, or the broader history of burgers. What it does cover, it covers very well: the smash technique, the right heat level, when to flip, how to get those crispy lacy edges, and how to build flavor through toppings, sauces, and melted cheese. If you want one specific skill and want to nail it quickly, this book delivers.