• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sip Bite Go logo

  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Smoker Recipes
    • Griddle Recipes
    • Air Fryer Recipes
    • Homemade Pizza
    • Sous Vide Recipes
    • Trader Joe’s Recipes
    • Steak Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Keto Friendly
  • Smoker Recipes
  • Griddle
    • All Griddle Recipes
    • Traeger Flatrock Griddle Grill
    • Blackstone Griddle Grill
  • Air Fryer
  • Sous Vide
    • All Sous Vide Recipes
    • The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook
    • Buttery Sous Vide Lobster Tail Recipe
    • Sous Vide Frozen Steak
    • Sous Vide T Bone Steak
    • Sous Vide Chicken Wings
    • Sous Vide Egg Bites
  • Cookbooks
  • More
    • Travel
    • Entertaining
    • Kitchen Remodel
  • About
    • Contact
    • Press Features
    • About
    • Get Updates
    • Podcast
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Find A Recipe
  • Grill Recipes
  • Smoker Recipes
  • Tri Tip
  • Pizza Recipes
  • Smoked Chicken Breast
  • Traeger Flatrock Griddle Grill
  • Air Fryer Recipes
  • Sous Vide
  • Holiday Dishes
  • Cookbooks
  • About
  • Sip Bite Go – PR / Press Features
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » My Weird Food Obsession Podcast » Episode 14: Portland Chef Explains How They Opened a Successful Smash Burger Food Truck in PDX

    Episode 14: Portland Chef Explains How They Opened a Successful Smash Burger Food Truck in PDX

    Published: Mar 22, 2021 · Modified: Sep 8, 2022 by Jenna Passaro · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Pin4
    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    4 Shares
    title text overlay with a double stacked burger, man in corner, and podcast logo

    Listen to My Weird Food Obsession Podcast – episode 14 on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts to hear:

    • Mike Aldridge’s culinary journey.  
    • What is it like to go to a pop up dinner? 
    • The birth story of the Smash Burgers food truck.
    • The process of opening a food truck. 
    • Managing a food business and social media. 
    • Tips on making the best burgers at home. 
    • Advice on starting your own food truck.
    title text overlay with a double stacked burger, man in corner, and podcast logo

    Have you heard of a smash burger??

    They’re exactly what you’d want when hunger strikes after a heavy night of partying. They have two layers of burger patties, melty cheese, and a soft bun to soak up all the juice.

    See how to make onion smashed burgers…

    Mike Aldridge, a trained chef who’s been a part of the pop up restaurant scene in Portland for years, is here today to chat about how to make the best smash burger.

    And if you’re lucky enough to live in Portland, Oregon – the tasty food city I call home – or plan to visit it on your foodie travels, I have some exciting news. Mike is in the middle of opening the MidCity Smash Burgers Portland food truck where he will serve these delectable little burgers alongside friends and shakes. 

    In today’s episode, Mike talks about how the idea hit him in New Orleans, burger recipe testing in his kitchen, selling smash burgers right in his own front yard, and what it’s like to start a food truck in PDX. 

    Gourmet burger recipes from Sip Bite Go to check out…

    • Smoked burgers
    • Onion smash burgers
    • Philly cheesesteak smash burgers
    • Burger sliders
    • See how to make hamburger patties step by step
    • GUIDE: how long to grill burgers
    • Sous vide burgers
    • Mayo seared sous vide burgers
    • Sous vide lamb burgers
    • Smoked bacon wrapped burgers
    • Bacon wrapped burgers
    • Cheeseburger pizza
    • See more Blackstone griddle recipes
    • See the best burger recipes…

    Meat thermometer recommendations

    Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly. 

    On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:

    1. Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
    2. ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill. 

    It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature. 

    How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.

    While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!

    man posed leaning against a fence post

    From free-style New Orleans to Portland under COVID

    If there’s one similarity between New Orleans and Portland, it would be that they both appreciate good food. If there’s one thing different, it would be the way they approach regulating the food industry.

    New Orleans is the epitome of live and let live philosophy, and starting a smash burger pop-up there was easy: buy a flattop at Home Depot, set it up in your front yard, and start selling hundreds of burgers in a weekend, all cooked up in your kitchen.

    If you want to do it Mike Aldridge’s way, you’ll also invite over a NOLA style brass band to play music right on the lawn. Atmosphere, anyone?

    man and woman assembling burgers

    It was a year ago that Mike moved to Portland, and he found the legal requirements as different as you can get. His original idea of a food truck was one that moved around from place to place, selling hot food—but here, you get permits for your one spot, and are expected to stay parked there like a food cart. 

    Even then, the permissions are extensive, and he took months to get his ducks in a row. Now he’s all set and ready to go, with everything in order to meet pandemic-era dining regulations.

    Want to hear more about PDX food? Check out my podcast episode with Taylor Scoma about the food scene in Portland, Oregon

    man smashing burger patties on the griddle

    A recipe for the perfect smash burger

    What makes the perfect smash burger? Mike refused to divulge any ingredient lists: his smash burgers are his trade secret, and if you want to try one, you’ll have to stop by the MidCity Smash Burger Food Truck.

    But he was willing to share his methods with podcast listeners, and when he started talking about smashing those burgers he was pretty well eloquent. 

    The heart of the smash burger is a 1-2 ounce ball of handmade beef patty meat, seasoned with salt and pepper or a little spice mix, and literally smashed down hard into a hot pan.

    This gives you quantities of smoke, so if you try it at home, first disable the smoke detector– but it also gives you a wonderfully thin burger with the perfect sear and a crunchy crust.

    If you’re into getting the perfect crust on burgers, check out my mayo seared sous vide hamburgers.

    smash burgers on a grill with cheese melting on top

    For the bun, Mike recommends you stay far away from Brioche bread and other fancy hamburger buns; these will only detract from your smash burger.  Instead, go with the cheapest burger bun you can find– four inch enriched white buns are perfect. 

    There’s no lettuce, tomato or pickle on Mike’s smash burgers: these ultra-simple sandwiches contain just bread, burger, cheese, and sauce.

    The sauce, though, is no ordinary sauce. He made it up himself, and the recipe is one of his well-guarded secrets, but if you make your own smash burgers you’ll need to find an awesome sauce to pair with them. If you have a good sauce, he tells us, you’ll have a good burger.

    One over-the-top amazing sauce I’m digging these days is this cilantro ranch sauce for meats. Drizzled on top of sous vide porterhouse = heaven.

    a double stacked burger with cheese and sauce on a white bread bun

    Tips for Opening a PDX Food Truck

    If Mike was close-mouthed about his sauce and his ingredients, there was one topic on which he was more than willing to share all he knew: opening a burger food truck in PDX, or any food truck, for that matter.

    He advised would-be-food-truckers to do careful homework, taking the time to calculate everything out in advance. The bureaucracy is intense, and you’ll need more permissions than you can shake a stick at, so plan on taking months to open. Once you’ve got your truck open, stick to what you know, and stay consistent with your menu.

    See my list of the best lunch spots in Portland.  

    quote with podcast logo with man holding burger in the background

    “There’s nothing really like it – the rush of getting your ass kicked on a busy Friday night, getting done with it and looking at all your buddies in a line and smiling and laughing about it and telling stories later. It’s cliche to say a little bit, but it’s a lot of fun.” – Mike Aldridge

    You know I’m a big fan of my sous vide burgers… but I have a trick that you can use for little smash burgers cooked Mike’s way, too. You have to try a mayo sear — have you heard of it?

    It means you put mayo on the outside of the burgers or sous vide boneless ribeye, before searing them in a hot cast iron skillet.

    For more burger tips, see how to make mayo seared sous vide hamburgers and check out my guide to making ground beef patties for burgers.

    Links mentioned

    • Instagram @midcitysmashburger
    • Where to eat lunch in Portland
    man in blue face mask holding a burger out in front of him

    Learn more about the PDX food truck scene

    Listen to My Weird Food Obsession Podcast – episode 14 on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.

    More from My Weird Food Obsession

    • Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Amazon-Audible
    • Listen to another recent episode
    • Connect on Instagram @sipbitego and @myweirdfoodobsession
    « Frozen Mixed Vegetables Potatoes Au Gratin (+ VIDEO)
    33+ Keto Sous Vide Recipes »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    jenna passaro food blogger from Portland Oregon

    Hey, I’m Jenna Passaro.

    I develop easy recipes that can transform your kitchen into a restaurant – and you into a true home chef.

      

    Where to start?

    Learn the secrets to smoking tasty Traeger recipes and making pizza at home. And cook amazing tri tip steak dinners.

    Or, fall in love with something new to cook with your air fryer, pellet smoker, BBQ grill, sous vide cooker, and more…

    You’ll notice, I kind of geek out over new cooking trends and tools!

    Instagram me @sipbitego & chef hubs @handmodelpatrick

    My story. Growing up, I didn’t learn to cook.

    (I was actually banned from cooking for years)

    And then in my 20’s I didn’t have to cook because my job as an event planner involved a lot of travel and it was easier to eat out. At the time, I was 100% positive that restaurant food would always taste better than cooking at home, and there was nothing I could do about it.

    Until I fell in love with a chef. He would come over and cook me delicious meals right in my own kitchen. My mind was blown.

    Since then, I’ve been on a mission to figure out easy ways to make restaurant style food at home and share it here on Sip Bite Go.

    Love to eat out and travel? I can totally relate. See my guide on where to eat in Portland, OR.

    jenna passaro the home chef's sous vide cookbook

    Never in a million years did I imagine I’d ditch the 9-5 lifestyle in my late 20’s, move across the country on a whim, start a new life, start a food blog, and write a book.

    But here I am!

    See my book on Amazon: The Home Chef’s Sous Vide Cookbook.

     

       

    Game Day Food

    Back Yard BBQ Menu Ideas for the Grill and Smoker

    Tasty Back Yard BBQ Menu Ideas

    Best Traeger and Blackstone griddle recipes collage

    Easy Griddle Recipes for Beginners

    How long to cook sliders

    How Long To Cook Sliders (Stovetop Recipe)

    Teriyaki Steak Marinade

    Easy Teriyaki Steak Marinade

    Grill + Smoker

    Smoked Leg of Lamb Boneless Recipe On Traeger Smoker

    Smoked Boneless Leg of Lamb (Pellet Grill Recipe)

    Traeger Flatrock Smash Burger Kit for Griddle Review

    Flatrock Griddle Ultimate Smashed Burger Kit Review

    Community Favs

    raw ground beef patties for burgers

    How To Make Ground Beef Patties For Burgers

    How To Cook Tri Tip In Oven Recipe

    How To Cook Tri Tip In Oven Perfectly

    Air Fryer

    Air Fryer Turkey Legs Disney Copycat Recipe

    How To Air Fry Turkey Legs

    Air Fryer Brats Recipe

    Air Fryer Beer Brats (aka Bratwurst)

    Pizza Cravings

    Cheeseburger Pizza Recipe With Pickles topping

    Cheeseburger Pizza With Pickles

    Fig And Prosciutto Gourmet Pizza Recipe

    Dried Fig And Prosciutto Flatbread Pizza

    Holiday Dishes

    Traeger smoked salmon filet recipe on tin foil on the pellet grill

    Pellet Smoker Salmon Filets

    Turkey Legs In Oven Sip Bite Go

    Easy Baked Turkey Legs In Oven Recipe

    Footer

    • Sip Bite Go
    • Recipe Index
    • Sous-Vide Recipes
       
    Sip Bite Go As Seen On
    • Work with Sip Bite Go
    • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Get Updates
    • Accesibility Info

    COPYRIGHT © 2021 SIP BITE GO