How Bobby Flay Actually Feels About Smash Burgers

In recent years, our cravings for the smash burger have grown to new and delicious heights. While smash burgers are trending upward, the technique for making this type of flat-pattied burger has been around for decades. Still, not everyone is 100% sold. And, when it comes to chef Bobby Flay, he still prefers his burger patties to be on the thicker side.

In a smash burger, ground beef is smashed into a flat patty that cooks quickly and develops a crisp exterior. While it makes a smash burger patty savory and crunchy, this technique also lacks the body of a burger that Flay enjoys. He also finds that smash burgers are often so smashed that you can't taste the flavor of the meat.

The Food Network star explained to "TODAY" that he doesn't "hate" smash burgers and understands why the public likes a burger with "a bunch of crusty meat." However, he continued, "I wanna taste the beef." At his Bobby's Burgers restaurants, burgers are cooked medium. And, according to Flay, that gives eaters "something to bite into."

Even though it's not his favorite method, Flay has been known to enjoy a smash burger. On his Food Network show "Bobby and Sophie On the Coast," Flay ate a smash burger made from short rib at a Heavy Handed food truck and couldn't believe how good it tasted. "By pressing the meat thin, there's more area for the burger to brown, injecting more of that great flavor as the fats and sugars in the meat caramelize," he said on the episode, per Facebook. 

After reacting to the sandwich by saying, "Wow," Flay admitted that while he tends to lean away from the smash burger concept because "you can't taste the flavor," the short rib was a great option. As he explained, short rib "is a really smart way to go because it has the texture, that density of the meat, and also, the fat has tons of flavor."