2 burgers and 2 cokes at 5 Guys in Orlando, Fl yesterday $28

[gulliver]

54. My home burgers are just as good imo.

The secrets are the bun (needs to be high quality and toasted on the inside, not both sides) and the handling of the burger. Smash burgers have more tasty browning due to more surface area per unit volume. Thick burgers are juicier. I got a lot of advice from YouTube, specifically Adam Ragusea for a lot of it.

Both smashburgers and thick burgers benefit from very low "squishing" the burger around. Buy crumbly, freshly ground beef, not prepressed patties or tightly compacted packages.

For smash burgers, ball up the burger beforehand with almost no kneading. Smash it as few times as possible on the griddle and then leave it alone. If you keep smashing it, it will toughen.

Thick burgers need an absolute minimum of handling to get them into shape. Don't press them in a form or buy them prepressed.

I cook thick burgers on the grill from frozen. They end up great.

To cook smashburgers, I thaw out pre-frozen thick burgers (I store both as frozen thick burgers in the freezer) in the microwave. Then smash them on a preheated, carbon steel pan. They end up great.

Add MSG (Accent) for a perceived flavor boost.

Deep fried fries right after cutting them are just fine imo. I don't bother soaking or blanching and I think they end up comparable to Five Guys.

Always interested in burger tips, btw!