Introducing...
SUPER SMASH BURGERS MELEE
>What did you make?
Hamburgers and waffle fries
>How did you make it
Slather buns with mayonnaise, margarine, butter, or whatever fat is on-hand.
Make some thousand island. I like to go heavy on the mayo for a thick consistency, but I've seen recipes go 50/50 for a runnier texture. I use mayonnaise, ketchup, a bit of dijon mustard, some paprika, salt, and fresh black pepper. Plus a dash of pickle juice. Not too much or it'll water the whole thing down. Maybe a tablespoon 4 burger's worth of thousand island. I like to mix mine in a coffee mug and filling it 2/3rds of the way is about right for my needs. This is extra-tangy, just how I like it.
For pickles, I unfortunately have not had time to pickle my own. But I like to buy spicy pickle chips. As a rule, for the crunch, don't buy pre-chipped, but my market has limited options and I am lazy with small things.
My only other topping is onion. I like them raw. you can toast them in the pan after you're done with the buns if you want them caramelized some.
I layer pickles on the bottom bun, onion on the top bun.
Roll out a 2 oz ball per-patty.
You'll need a spatula you can smash with, obviously.
Get a cast iron ripping hot and then drop in your patties. Smash them down as flat as you can get them. While they fry, season with salt, pepper, a dash of MSG, and this is key: sprinkle on some mustard.
Once they've cooked about 80% of the way through, they're about ready to flip. Give them a good scrape and flip. Let them fry on the underside. The mustard can inhibit crust development some, but the flavor infused is well worth it.
Add cheese if desired. Once it's about melted, you can call it done. Stack 'em up and lay 'em on top of the pickles.
For fries, I've just been using pre-cut lately. They come par-fried and shoestring and waffle cuts crisp well in the oven. I've found using a pot of oil too wasteful and, in my kitchen configuration, dangerous.
To get crispy oven fries, I crank the oven up to 450F or so. Let the baking sheet preheat. Take it out, spray on a coat of non-stick spray. Dump your preferred spuds on the baking sheet, ideally just one layer without too much crowding, but you can get away with some.
Now, spray the tops of these 'taters with non-stick spray. It will help to fry them in the oven.
Stick them in and just let them cook.
If you start them when you begin prepping your burgers, they should finish around the time the burgers do.
You'll know they're done with some of them, the ones around your oven's hot spots, are starting to blacken a tad. The rest should be golden brown and crispy without being too dry or mushy.
This technique walks a fine line and is hard to control but you can get good results some of the time and it's low-effort, especially if using pre-cut frozen fries.
This technique also works with tater tots, and arguably is easier to control because they're regularly-sized and designed for this sort of baking method.
Overall I find the recommended temperature on the packages too low, at least for the baking time prescribed.
These burgers are a favorite treat among friends and family. Try one and you won't be disappointed!