Jesse's Flattop Cheeseburger
A flattop cheeseburger that feeds a standing crew without a toppings bar. Fatty beef, chipotle Tabasco in the mix, American cheese, fresh bun — the method fans know from Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC), built for the lot.
Yield: 4 thin smash burgers (about 1 lb beef).
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef — 70/30 ideal, 80/20 acceptable (fattier wins)
- Garlic powder
- Seasoned salt (or your general lot seasoning)
- Chipotle Tabasco — about 1/2 bottle per pound of beef (heat cooks down)
- American cheese — the cheap wrapped kind
- 4 fresh soft burger buns
- Butter for toasting the buns
Method
- Put the beef in a bowl. Dust with garlic powder and seasoned salt. Pour in the chipotle Tabasco — about half a bottle per pound. Mix until it looks evenly wet and spicy.
- Form very thin patties (or roll loose balls and smash them thin on the flattop). Thin is the point.
- Heat a flattop or heavy skillet to medium-high. Fatty beef cooks in its own fat — no oil needed.
- Drop the patties. When the edges brown and juice shows in the middle, flip. Immediately lay on American cheese. When it melts, pull the burgers.
- Butter-toast the buns on the same surface. Build: bun, cheeseburger, bun.
Lot notes
- No condiments. No lettuce, no tomato, no “just a little ketchup.” The mix and the cheese are the flavor.
- Chipotle Tabasco only — not regular Tabasco, not Cholula, not the bottle you like for wings.
- Flattop or skillet mandatory. A grate-only grill loses the smash crust.
- Keep raw and cooked paths separate; see Food Safety on the Lot.
- Weather acting up? Lot Grill Weather Play.
- Homegate: cast-iron on the stove works the same way.
Smash, cheese, bun, done.
I Love To Tailgate — feed the crew like you mean it.
More in Menu · Tailgate Finds · Rituals