History

Manchester's smashburger and fried-chicken movement followed the wider UK trend from around 2015. Tender Cow installed itself at Mackie Mayor with native-breed beef shoulder-and-chuck smashburgers; Pen and Pencil added Buttermilk-fried sandwiches on a brioche bun. Common at Edge Street ran the reuben and grilled-cheese variants. Manchester now produces several of the country's standout permanent burger counters outside London.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 25 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 800g coarsely-minced beef (80% lean chuck and shoulder), shaped into 8 loose 100g balls
  • 8 thin slices American cheese or Red Leicester
  • 4 soft potato or brioche buns, split
  • For the burger sauce: 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon American mustard
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped pickles
  • 1 teaspoon ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon pickle brine
  • pinch of cayenne
  • 1 large white onion, finely diced
  • 8 dill pickle slices
  • Iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • Vegetable oil for the pan
  • Sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Mix the sauce ingredients and refrigerate.
  2. Heat a heavy cast-iron pan or flat-top griddle over the highest heat for at least 5 minutes. The pan must be smoking hot.
  3. Brush lightly with vegetable oil.
  4. Place two beef balls on the hot surface. Immediately smash each flat with the back of a heavy metal spatula or burger smasher into a thin 12cm patty. Press hard for 5 seconds.
  5. Sprinkle with salt and a heap of diced onion. Cook 90 seconds until a dark crust forms.
  6. Flip the patties (the onion will be embedded in the crust). Lay a slice of cheese on each patty and cook 30 seconds more.
  7. Stack one patty on the other; place on the bottom bun spread generously with sauce.
  8. Add pickles, lettuce and the top bun. Press lightly. Repeat for the remaining burgers.
  9. Serve immediately with skin-on fries.

Tip from the editors. The smash is the technique. Loose unshaped beef balls on a screaming-hot surface, pressed hard 5 seconds, give the lacy Maillard crust. Pre-formed patties fail.

Where to eat manchester smashburger and fried chicken

Manchester smashburger and fried chicken in Manchester

Tender Cow at Mackie Mayor ★ 4.3

££ SteakhouseNorthern Quarter

Native-breed beef counter inside Mackie Mayor. Dry-aged rump and a smashburger built around the same beef; the burger queue is the long one.

OrderThe smashburger double; rump and chips if you want a fork plate.

TipSit at the long table by the kitchen; the burger is faster from the bar.

Directions

Common ★ 4.2

££ British gastropubNorthern QuarterUntil 02:00 daily

Manchester's Edge Street Northern Quarter pub serves food until 02:00 every night. Reuben on rye, hot toasties, sourdough grilled cheese, craft beer flight.

TryReuben sandwich

Directions

The Pen and Pencil ★ 4.1

££ £10-14BrunchAmerican brunchNorthern Quarter

Manchester's eighty-cover American brunch room on the corner of Hilton and Tariff. Brunch crowd from 10:00; cocktail bar in the same room runs late nights.

OrderButtermilk-fried chicken sandwich with a Bloody Mary on the side

Directions

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