Gastronaut: Umami Burger & Smashed Burger

For superjuicy burgers with a delicious sear, pros like Umami Burger's Adam Fleischman know a griddle beats a grill.

While burger experts debate everything from meat blends to beef-to-bun ratio, there's a growing consensus that the best cooking tool isn't a grill—it's a griddle. "You get a more even sear, and the fat bastes the burger instead of dripping through the grate," explains Adam Fleischman. He's the founder of Umami Burger, a Los Angeles chain that looks beyond ketchup and mustard to other flavor boosters, like "umami dust," a savory mix that includes ground kombu (a type of seaweed) and dried shiitake mushrooms.

To demonstrate the griddle's superiority, Fleischman shares two of his best burger recipes here. One is a classic eight-ounce patty topped with Stilton cheese and a port reduction; the other is a "smashed" burger, an old-school style that involves flattening a ball of ground meat on the griddle, then cooking it with onions and cheese. For the best results, Fleischman suggests cooking burgers on a griddle that's set atop a grill: "You get that smoky flavor, without losing the juices and the crisp sear."