For Ultra Juicy Smash Burgers, Add One Unexpected Canned Ingredient

Smash burgers are just one of many takes on the tried and true American classic, but when it hits, it really hits. You can easily make the perfect crispy smash burger at home, and doctor it up into something bigger and better with just one canned ingredient: French onion soup. We followed the instructions on Campbell's website and used condensed French onion soup for the patties. Basically, you add a ¼-cup of French onion soup to your usual hamburger recipe for every pound of ground beef, and mix it right in with your seasonings.

Not only does this create delectably juicy burgers, but it infuses each patty with a rich, umami taste thanks to the caramelized onions in the soup. Plus, soup concentrate offers even more flavor payoff. This helps you swerve the dreadful blunder of not seasoning your burger patties before cooking (which is just one of the smash burger mistakes you might be making) and guarantees that bland burgers will be a thing of the distant past.

First, you want to do everything in your power to trap the juices in the burger so you're not dealing with a crusty, dry patty. You want crispy edges and a nicely caramelized crust — not dust in your mouth. Use a stainless steel pan, or at least avoid using a nonstick one; it's the type of pan you should never use to make smash burgers, because it simply isn't built to handle the kind of high heat you need for that perfect smash burger crust. The soup in your burger mix should keep your burgers from sticking, and give you an even better caramelized crust, but you can always use a bit of high heat oil if it needs a little help.

The other big thing you'll want to do is avoid overmixing. When you work your ground beef too much, you destroy the binding that holds it all together. This, then, makes your patties dry, crumbly, and altogether tragic. Not even your canned French onion soup will be able to save a patty from overmixing, so be sure to stir in your ingredients just until incorporated, and then form the mixture into balls. Yes, you want to make balls and not patties, so you can get those actual crispy uneven edges that smash burgers are famous for. With these tips and a can of Campbell's French onion soup in hand, your smash burger game will be nigh unstoppable.