Spicy, Beefy, Smashburger Tacos

Jeff the Chef

Spicy, beefy, smashburger tacos: melty cheese, crispy yet chewy tortillas … they cross into comfort-food territory. The name might slightly misleading, because they don’t taste like tacos – although they could if you wanted them to.

Smashburger Tacos
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Smashburger Tacos

Recipe by Make It Like a Man!Course: DinnerCuisine: Mexican, American
Makes

8

tacos

Have the tortillas, cheese, and everything ready to go as this process happens quickly once you start cooking.

Ingredients

  • For the burger sauce:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise

  • 1/4 cup ketchup

  • 2 Tbs pickle relish

  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar

  • Pepper, to taste

  • For the burgers:

  • 1 lb. 80/20 ground beef

  • 1/4 cup minced yellow onion

  • 1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

  • 3/4 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp coarsely ground pepper

  • 4 tsp chili crisp

  • 8 small (6-inch or smaller) flour tortillas

  • 1/4 tsp bacon fat

  • 8 slices Pepper-Jack cheese

  • 4 tsp peanut butter (optional)

  • Sliced pickles

  • Sliced cucumbers

  • Shredded lettuce

Directions

  • Make the sauce.
  • Stir together all ingredients. Set aside.
  • Make the burgers.
  • Cut wax paper into squares roughly the same size as the tortillas. Set aside.
  • Mix the beef with the onion, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Portion into 2-oz. balls.
  • Spread 1/2 tsp chili crisp over a tortilla. Place a ball of meat on top. Cover with a square of wax paper. Use a heavy, sturdy, unbreakable dinner plate or similar object to press down on the burger. Leverage your upper body weight. Ideally, the meat should exceed the edge of the tortilla by a quarter-inch. If instead it’s a half-inch or less shy of of the edge of the tortilla, that’s acceptable. Repeat for remaining balls.
  • Turn one of the griddle’s burners (see notes) to a high flame, so that one end of the griddle will be much hotter than the other. Turn the hood vent to its highest setting.
  • Remove the wax paper from one of the tortilla burgers. Place bacon fat onto the hot end of the griddle and use the meat-side of the tortilla to spread it around a bit. Place the taco meat-side-down on the greased surface. Let the taco cook until the beef is not only browned, but crisped.
  • Use a very sturdy pancake flipper to forcefully scrape the meat off the griddle and flip the taco to the cooler side of the griddle. Add cheese and cover with a pot lid to assist in melting, which should take no more than 2 minutes. Move to either a plate and serve immediately, or move to a cooling rack.
  • Repeat for remaining burgers (but without adding any additional bacon fat). Adjust flame as needed, rather than timing.
  • (Spread 1 tsp peanut butter over the melted cheese.) Add a Tbs of burger sauce. Add additional toppings. Fold, and enjoy.

Notes

  • Substitutions: apple cider vinegar for the red wine vinegar, another melty cheese for the pepper-jack

  • Don’t have a griddle that will allow you to heat only one end? Heat the whole griddle; transfer the flipped burgers to a warmed, flat plate (perhaps in an oven set to lowest heat); and cover them to let the cheese melt. If you don’t have a griddle at all, whatever you typically use to sear a steak at your house would work for this.
"Smashburger Tacos," from Make it Like a Man!

These tacos are so good that I had to really discipline myself not to overindulge. The texture of the hot, juicy, beefy, beef; the soft and chewy tortilla with a touch of crispiness at the edges; the luxuriousness of the sauce … wow! Then there’s the tiny hit of spiciness that comes from the cheese, and the second hit that comes a few seconds later, from the chili crisp.

Don’t dismiss the peanut butter if you’ve never tried it. It amplifies the beefiness of the beef in the most surprising way, and will remind you – especially in this spicy, burger-saucy context – just a little bit of satay. 

Alternatives…

Don’t like the idea of exerting a lot of force onto a dinner plate? Press the tacos between two 8×10″ cutting boards instead. If you have a tortilla press … well, why didn’t you say so! That will work beautifully.

I like these tacos with nothing but the sauce and the peanut butter. But of course, they’ll take anything you can throw at them even in addition to the recommended toppings, like grilled onions, bacon bits, tomato, etc. 

Search the internet for more taco-like versions of this if that interests you. 

Afterwards…

These tacos did a number on my cast-iron griddle. The more burgers I cooked, the more hard work I needed to get the spatula between the burger and the griddle. Once I was done and the flame had been off long enough for the smoke to fully subside – but the griddle was still hot – I poured a little bit of water over where the burgers had fried and scraped at it with a wooden spatula. That made a tremendous difference. Once the griddle was cool enough to handle, clean-up was fairly easy.  

Stack fully cooled leftover tacos, undressed and unfolded, between sheets of wax paper. Place the stack into a sealable container and refrigerate.

If you want a more straightforward, “more like a cheeseburger” taco, check out the Chiles and Smoke recipe that I modeled this one after.

"Smashburger Tacos," from Make it Like a Man!
Spicy, Beefy, Smashburger Tacos

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor and ⌘+C. Huge thank you to my food hero, Harold McGee. References: Chiles and Smoke. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #13 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.

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44 thoughts on “Spicy, Beefy, Smashburger Tacos”

    • Someone turned me on to that years and years ago, and I’ve always stuck with it.

      Reply

    • They’re really not “tacos.” I mean, aside from the tortilla, there’s nothing Mexican about them. I almost feel like I should change the name because of that.

      Reply

  6. This is really intriguing, and sounds like something we would really enjoy.
    I have a cast iron griddle and a burner attached to my gas grill. I think this sounds like something made for it!

    Reply

  8. Now I have seen everything! Peanut butter on burgers? JT does PB with bacon on toast which I have to admit (shyly) is a bit weird for a European but I’d try your PB and burgers suggestion. I’ve been eyeing the smash burger tacos for a while. What I love about them is less bun with the fajitas shells! And cooking the burgers on the shells makes filling the shells so easy and so much easier to eat! I may have to try this on the weekend! Thanks Jeff

    Reply

    • I love the same things about them that you mention. In addition, though, you could always use a low-carb tortilla. But not corn. There has to be some elasticity. I also like that the beef portion is small, but feels big. Peanut butter and bacon! I’ll have to try that. I’m telling you, though, you have to try peanut butter on a burger. It doesn’t sound good, but it is.

      Reply

  10. It’s interesting how many ways you can use tortillas and make a taco! I’m sure any burger lover would love this!!

    Reply

  12. We are actually having smash beef patties for dinner tonight. I have become lazy in my old age, and do the bare minimum with them – an egg, a bit of panko and seasoning:=) Still good!
    cheers
    sherry

    Reply

  16. I always joke that Laura could turn anything into tacos…but this is a new one to me. Smashburger tacos sound like my heaven. I need this plate in front of me for breakfast right now.

    Reply

  17. I haven’t heard of smashburgers before Jeff, but I’m glad you’ve introduced me. These tacos sound (and look) amazing. Can’t wait to try!

    Reply

  22. These tacos sound absolutely mouthwatering! Juicy beef with that perfect tortilla is a winning combination but its the unexpected addition of peanut butter that is a genius touch

    Reply

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