Cheesy Smash Burger Tacos Recipe

Somewhere between the worlds of Mexican and American cuisines is a crossover that you didn't know you needed -– and it's not Tex-Mex that we're talking about. No, we're talking about a new fusion: Americana's finest creation, the smash burger, turned into a birria-style taco. The toppings mimic that of a classic hamburger, completing the taco with American cheese, tomato, and lettuce. The flavor is exactly what you'd expect –- a hamburger inside a taco –- and perfectly satisfies the cravings for both dishes.

Smash burger tacos aren't just ground beef tacos. Instead, the beef is formed into balls and smashed into patties on a hot skillet or grill, then it's added to a taco shell and fried until browned. The grease from the burger coats and browns the tortilla, creating an extra layer of savory flavor. In this recipe written with developer Michelle McGlinn, the tacos also get extra-gooey with the addition of American cheese. Easy enough for a weeknight and great for all ages, this recipe is the perfect answer to the age-old question, hamburgers or tacos?

The first things you'll need for smash burger tacos are ground beef, salt, and pepper. For juicy burgers, choose a ground beef that is 80% to 85% lean. With this recipe specifically, the added grease is useful in browning the taco shells. For tortillas, choose a flour tortilla that is about ½-inch larger than the burger patty; for most, this will be about 6 inches, or a standard tortilla. You'll also need a neutral oil with a high smoke point, such as grapeseed or avocado, because you will cook the burgers in a very hot skillet. From there, you'll just need the toppings: Lettuce, tomato, and American cheese.

Separate and roll the beef into four 2-inch balls.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Add the beef to the skillet, working in batches, as needed. Immediately press the meat into ¼-inch patties using a spatula or burger press.

Once browned, after about 2 minutes, flip and brown the other side. Sprinkle each patty with ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper.

Divide the ground beef between the tortillas and add a slice of American cheese to each tortilla.

Turn the heat to medium-low and add the tacos, working in batches, as needed, and flip closed. Press the tacos firmly into the skillet and brown for 30 seconds.

Flip the taco half and brown the other side for about 30 seconds.

To serve, top with tomatoes and shredded lettuce.

This recipe calls for 6-inch tortillas, which is the most standard tortilla size you'll find in stores. Each tortilla in this recipe houses one burger patty, which are ¼ pound each, making a serving size just one taco. Like serving a hamburger, we recommend serving this smash burger taco with plenty of sides, such as rice and beans, grilled vegetables, and elote salad, but if serving just one taco each feels strange to you, you can adjust the recipe for smaller tortillas.

Instead of rolling four 4-ounce balls from your ground beef, make miniature smash burger patties by rolling eight 2-inch balls of beef. These will be about the size of golf balls and will smash to about 4 inches across. Hamburgers shrink while cooking, so the final length may be closer to 2 or 3 inches. With this in mind, you can fit these miniature smash tacos into "street taco" shells, or 4-inch tortillas, which will be slightly bigger than the patty and can accommodate the fold. If your patties don't match the tortillas you bought and you can't get them folded, simply fry them open-faced and eat them as tostadas.

When you cook hamburgers in the skillet, they release quite a bit of grease that is often rendered useless and tossed away. Unlike bacon grease, which can be used broadly across many dishes to add salty flavor, hamburger grease isn't very tasty and normally can't be used for the same reasons. The exception, however, is that it can still add deep, umami flavor to dishes that involve the hamburger meat itself.

A little bit of grease can help a bolognese or ragu develop a deep flavor. Likewise, cooking tortillas in beef consomme is a technique that adds a lot of flavor to birria tacos. This recipe follows that same idea and reuses the grease in the skillet to cook the tortillas, giving them a salty, savory flavor that complements the beef within. If you don't like the flavor of grease (totally normal), wipe the skillet down and use butter or oil instead.