Make hamburgers that won't fall apart on the grill (or disappoint the grandchildren) (2024)
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We use our outdoor grill several nights a week and do well with things like marinated lamb, yakitori chicken, Puget Sound seafood and vegetables. But when our grandchildren ask for hamburgers, we fail miserably. We make the patties about 1/2-inch thick from the leanest hamburger or ground round. But when we put them on the grill, they crumble and fall apart. How do we get the patties to stay together?
First of all, I'd make them thicker, maybe 3/4-to 1-inch thick. Cook them over a slightly lower fire so they don't burn on the outside before they're cooked on the inside.
The very low fat content of the hamburger probably has something to do with it, but there are a couple of tricks you can use:
Add 1 egg yolk per pound of hamburger. It won't add appreciably to the fat content and will bind the meat beautifully.
The other thing you can do is add canned, drained, crushed black beans or chickpeas to the hamburger. The starch from the beans will bind the meat together and add an interesting taste. (The kids might not like it, though.)
Make thicker patties: Thicker patties are less likely to fall apart. Aim for patties that are about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Thinner patties are more prone to breaking apart [2]. Use indirect heat: When grilling, cook the patties over indirect heat rather than directly over the flames.
I always use a patty press when I make my burgers since it compacts them really well and helps them stick together. Freezing patties before cooking them keeps them much more solid on the grill until they're cooked enough to hold together and reduces the amount of sticking to the grill.
You can use a binder in burgers to help hold them together. Common binders include eggs, breadcrumbs, or ground flaxseed mixed with water. These ingredients help to bind the meat, seasonings, and other ingredients together, making the patty more stable and easier to handle while cooking or grilling.
Egg is a burger binding agent for the ground beef patty. Divide the well mixed beef into four equal round balls and form into patties. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more salt and pepper on each side. Create ground beef patties.
One of the most common substitutes is breadcrumbs, but sometimes the breadcrumbs can fall off when the burgers are cooking if there are too many or they are too dry. Other popular substitutions for eggs include cornstarch, flour, ketchup, porridge oats, cracker crumbs, and ground flaxseed.
After forming it into a patty, he explains that the egg actually helps bind the meat together, and adds an incredibly rich flavor to the burger patty. As a good rule of thumb, it's best to add one yolk per pound of ground beef.
Give them at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator to chill, but a few hours or an overnight rest is ideal. Then you can brown them well and still get a juicy pink center. If your burgers are less than 3/4-inch thick, consider freezing them for 30 minutes before cooking.
Make sure that the grill is clean, the grates are hot, and that you properly oil the grill.
Clean the grill – and always keep it clean. If the grates are dirty, food, whether it is meat, vegetables, or fruits, will always stick to the grill. ...
Pressing down on the burgers will not only make them lose flavor but also can cause them to get a bad taste — although not just by pressing down on them. When those juices hit the bottom of the grill or any exposed flames, it may cause a flare-up.
The heat doesn't build up and intensify the way it would if the lid was down. Thin pork chops, shrimp, and burgers tend to cook quickly. Leaving the grill lid up will slow the cooking process by reducing the temperature around the meat. For thicker cuts, you want to close the lid to keep the temperature high and even.
Grill your burgers over too high a heat and you'll end up with dry, burnt burgers; too low and they'll be placid and rubber. The sweet spot for grilled burgers is 375°F to 400°F, which for most gas grill is medium-high heat.
Place the patties on the grill grid.Grill directly over the heat for 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium, or less for rare or medium rare. Just before the burgers are finished, toast the buns on the edges of the grill. Serve.
While raw egg can be used to bind the burgers, mayonnaise does the trick while also adding an irreplacable dimension of creaminess, moisture, and flavor. When the patties cook, the mayo melts into the pockets of the meat to create a wonderfully juicy patty.
Let me cut straight to the chase: All that you need to do to prevent this from happening is to compensate by shaping your patty a little wider than the bun to begin with, and making a shallow dimple in the center of it. Once cooked, it should fit the bun perfectly, and lay completely flat.
Hamburgers without breadcrumbs are the norm. They can act as a binding agent, but the great thing about burgers is there are so many ways to make them delicious! If you want burgers without breadcrumbs to stay together, use fresh meat and cool them in the refrigerator before cooking.
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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