Burger experts to the rescue! Binding agent - what do I use?

[vipguy 10]

Hello everyone

 

I love a nice burger. I never made it as a vegetarian because the lettuce leaves were killing me. Although I am fairly good at creating the ingredients I have a problem. My burgers tend to collapse and look a mess.

 

What do I use for a good binding ingredient for my burgers? I have being told to simply add salt and pepper and not handle the meat too much. Another solution has been to use cheese but this creates a lot of oil. Breadcrumbs tend to made the burger black and it burns too much and using egg gives the burger a white appearance when cooking.

 

There is a Chinese woman who does cooking on TV and she used cornstarch. Can anyone solve the mystery and tell me something that actually works effectively please?

 

In addition, any new burger recipes are very welcome. Has anyone tried a spicy burger with cumin powder?

 

Burger experts to the rescue, please!

 

Thank you.

[JFKvsNixon 11]

Hello everyone

 

I love a nice burger. I never made it as a vegetarian because the lettuce leaves were killing me. Although I am fairly good at creating the ingredients I have a problem. My burgers tend to collapse and look a mess.

 

What do I use for a good binding ingredient for my burgers? I have being told to simply add salt and pepper and not handle the meat too much. Another solution has been to use cheese but this creates a lot of oil. Breadcrumbs tend to made the burger black and it burns too much and using egg gives the burger a white appearance when cooking.

 

There is a Chinese woman who does cooking on TV and she used cornstarch. Can anyone solve the mystery and tell me something that actually works effectively please?

 

In addition, any new burger recipes are very welcome. Has anyone tried a spicy burger with cumin powder?

 

Burger experts to the rescue, please!

 

Thank you.

 

Are you using lean mince or fatty mince?

[Chez2 10]

You can use bread crumbs and egg. In in the right proportions and cooked properly the burger will not be black or white. It sounds like you are adding too much egg and bread and cooking too hot.

 

Do you compress the burger at all? We have a cheap plastic burger press. Put a wax disc each side of the meat, put it in the burger press and it is more compacted.

 

Here is a simple burger press.

 

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/10481/Quarter-Pounder-Burger-Press

 

Don't keep flipping it over all the time as home made burgers can be a bit more delicate.

[vipguy 10]

Greetings Chez

 

Thank you for the information. I think I may be adding too much but never heard of a burger press!

 

Thank you.

[Chez2 10]

Glad I could help.

[Farslad 10]

I use breadcrumbs and egg usually. My other half is currently avoiding anything bready. So instead of breadcrumbs I recently used mushrooms chopped small and fried off. Worked a treat and tasty also.

[lectrolove 10]

I don't add anything to the meat, but what I do do is chop the mince up very finely in a food processor. It doesn't need long, you don't want to blend it to a paste or anything just give it a quick whizz. It seems to hold together better, less crumbly.

[KATIEB_23 10]

Second vote for a burger press here. I used to make burgers by hand & they fell apart, Now I have a burger press and don't add any binding agent whatsoever.

[allwednesday 11]

You can use a press but they will still fall apart if you don't get the mixture correct

I use bread crumbs and flatten them by hand

I then lay them on a baking tray cover them well with cling film and place them in the fridge for a few hours before cooking! this little trick works really well for me

[FIRETHORN1 58]

I always had the same problem with my home-made burgers falling to bits, so I did exactly what lectrolove suggests..... and decided to chop the mince a bit finer by giving it a whiz in the food processor. I was using lamb mince at the time. Unfortunately, I "processed" it a bit too much and turned it into paste. I wasn't sure what to do with this mince-paste - it was no good for burgers, but I didn't want to waste it.

 

In the end, I had the idea of adding loads of ground Indian spices to it, along with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a little bit of finely minced garlic, fresh ginger and fresh hot green chilli. I then shaped them into flat-ish circular patties, brushed them with a bit of ghee and grilled them under a very hot grill for a few minutes - turning regularly.

 

I was just experimenting really, but to my pleasant surprise, the end result tasted quite similar to those Shami Kebab thingies that they sell as starters in Indian restaurants. I now make them regularly as starters when I invite my friends over for my home-made curries. I even add a bit of natural red food dye to make them look a bit more "Indian-restauranty". I call them my "Sheff Shamis" and my friends seem to really enjoy them.

 

(On the downside though - grinding lamb mice into a paste-like consistency makes a right old mess of the food processor and it takes ages to clean out properly)

[kyle6uk 10]

Have you tried flour? My friend used to make us sausage patties for breakfast (sausage meat shaped into a burger) because the sausage meat had no casing it would fall apart so you would dip each side in flour and then cook them in a pan and they never fell apart