Ty Goerke, senior manager of culinary at fast-casual Smashburger, aims for uniqueness when developing new LTOs.
“Once you stop innovating, you’re like everyone else,” he said. “At Smashburger, we try to set trends rather than follow them.”
That was his motivation in creating the S’mac & Cheese Burger, a limited-time menu item that took two years to perfect. But once it launched at Smashburger’s 240 locations nationwide, the comfort-food mashup smashed records, becoming the chain’s best-selling LTO of the past two years.
Conquering the mac and cheese challenge
Goerke’s original idea was to use a mac-and-cheese patty to top the burger, as it could be smashed on the griddle like Smashburger’s menu signature.
“We have a great vendor partner who supplies mac and cheese and created the patty,” he said. “We cracked the code on smashing it on the griddle and it worked well in the initial tests, but it turned out to be a ‘gut bomb’ when eaten with the burger.”
For the next iteration, Goerke sourced prepared mac and cheese from the vendor. It comes in a bag, and the grill cooks portion it out onto the griddle. “We take a burger press and smash out the pieces so it forms a uniform shape,” he said.
After testing it extensively, Goerke worked with the vendor to add a little more shredded cheese to the product to better hold the shape. The new iteration was a success.
For each order, the mac and cheese is portioned out and cooked on the griddle first, with the brand’s classic burger next to it. Then a whole slice of American cheese is laid on top of the burger and the mac and cheese is layered on last. The final S’Mac & Cheese Burger features a Certified Angus Beef patty topped with American cheese and mac and cheese on an artisan bun.
A blanket of mac and cheese worked best as a burger topping.
“At Smashburger, we always chase crispy cheese on the grill for many of our menu items,” said Goerke. “This time, we chased the blanket instead. The mac and cheese forms a blanket over the burger, and the timing was right. We tapped into the comfort-food trend.”
Guests can also request the mac and cheese blanket as an add-on to any of Smashburger’s existing sandwiches and burgers, including the black bean burger for vegetarian customers. “My LTO rule is when you bring in a new product, you find as many uses for it as possible,” said Goerke.
In addition to treating it as a topping option, he is trying out mac-and-cheese pops as a side item.
The R&D napkin strategy
“Every burger should use at least four napkins,” Goerke believes. The Carolina BBQ Burnt Ends Burger, the newest LTO, builds protein on protein—pork on top of a burger—and requires six napkins.
Also in test this year is the Plant-Based Classic Burger made with jackfruit. Smashburger guests want to see plants on the menu but not a plant-based alternative meat burger, said Goerke.
The chef is also working on a burger taco, using a higher protein wheat and masa tortilla so it can be smashed on the grill first, with the burger smashed on top of it. Goerke is patterning it after a Colorado taco.
“The S’Mac & Cheese Burger pushed the boundaries, and I’m challenging vendors to look at new flavors and formulations,” he said. He’s especially interested in heat, after the success of Smashburger’s Scorchin’ Chicken Sandwich. West Africa is a part of the world he’s looking at.
“We never kick an ingredient out until we try it on a burger,” said Goerke.