Mile Marker Smash Burger Stack
All the greasy, glorious comfort of a roadside diner, stacked high and ready to roll.
This diner-style smash burger captures everything you love about pulling off the highway and sliding into a sticky vinyl booth — crispy-edged patties, tangy special sauce, and a pile of shoestring fries baked right into the bun for that irresistible crunch. It's built with classic American diner DNA but elevated with a smoky chipotle-pickle "highway sauce" and caramelized onions that taste like they've been cooking on a flat-top all day. Every messy, dripping bite is a love letter to the open road.
Ingredients
- 2 brioche burger buns, split
- 400g (14oz) 80/20 ground beef, divided into 2 loosely packed balls per burger
- 4 slices American cheese
- 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp neutral oil (for the pan)
- 4 dill pickle slices (plus 2 tbsp pickle brine)
- 1 cup frozen shoestring fries
- For the Highway Sauce: 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp chipotle in adobo, finely minced
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1 tsp pickle brine
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Cook the shoestring fries according to package directions until extra crispy. Set aside and season with salt immediately.
- Make the Highway Sauce: whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, chipotle, mustard, pickle brine, garlic powder, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Caramelize the onions: melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, add sliced onions and sugar, and cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply golden and jammy. Deglaze with pickle brine, stir, and set aside.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet or heavy flat-bottomed pan over high heat until smoking. Lightly oil the surface.
- Season each loose beef ball with salt and pepper. Place in the hot pan and immediately smash flat with a spatula or burger press. Cook for 90 seconds until the edges are deeply lacey and crisp.
- Flip each patty, immediately lay a slice of American cheese on top, and cook for 45 more seconds. Remove from heat.
- Toast the brioche buns cut-side down in the same pan for 30–60 seconds until golden.
- Assemble: spread Highway Sauce generously on both bun halves. Layer the bottom bun with caramelized onions, then both smashed patties (stacked), then pickles.
- Tuck a generous handful of hot shoestring fries between the top patty and the top bun so they poke out the sides like a diner signature move.
- Cap with the top bun, press down slightly, and serve immediately with extra Highway Sauce on the side for dipping.