Getting fresh hamburgers to stick together...


 
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Spencer P

TVWBB Member
About six months ago we did some research at our house on where ground beef really comes from. To say the least, later that day we went to our local restaurant supply store and bought an electric meat grinder to make our own fresh ground hamburger. I have to say, after eating the real deal, we will never look back at buying the stuff in the store.

This is all great and wonderful, however we have found that it can be a challenge to grill these types of burgers as they like to fall apart on the grill. I'm sure someone out there has the secret to keeping these together. Some recipes that we have looked at recommend using eggs and breadcrumbs as a binder. This sounds more like meatloaf than good ole' fashion burgers.

We did try adding some water that we found on a Paula Deen recipe. They were very good and tender and juicy, but this made the problem worse.

Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks...

Spencer
 
No need to add anything. Don't use lean beef, don't grind too fine, don't overwork (mix briefly in your hands, form the patty; done), and don't flip too soon.
 
We have been using chuck roast with lots of fat (yum!). We also don't grind it twice as some have mentioned. Thanks for all of the suggestions thus far....

Spencer
 
Try pink slime...
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J/K, the few times we've ground our own we didn't have that problem. Are you flipping/turning more than once?
 
Make the burger patties then place them back in the refrigerator and let them chill again before you put them on the grill.
 
If you add some salt and give the ground meat a few spins in a food processor, the meat will become sticky.
I'm not a native english speaker, but I'll try to expain- some of the proteines in the meat will "wash out" and glue the ground meat together.
When you are making sausages, it is important to get this right, but the same process applies to ground beef as well.

Knead the ground meat into a ball afterwards, let it rest in the fridge for half an hour, and you have fantastic burger meat, without any addons.

You do not have to add lots of salt, nor process the meat for a long time in the food processor. Let's say 30 seconds will do the trick, as long as you are working with about a pound of meat. Keep an eye on the ground meat, and you will see when it becomes sticky. Be sure to keep everything cold when you do this.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Spencer P:
About six months ago we did some research at our house on where ground beef really comes from. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
What kind of research? What were the results? What did you use as research material? I'm just curious.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
No need to add anything. Don't use lean beef, don't grind too fine, don't overwork (mix briefly in your hands, form the patty; done), and don't flip too soon. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Really? I've found that mixing the meat a little longer helps it become "stickier" and hold together better. I'm not talking for 5 minutes or anything like that, but if I'm mixing in some seasoning, I'll knead for a good minute or so. That seems to help things hold together a little better too. *shrug*
 
Certainly if one is adding seasoning one must work it in evenly. But doing so for a minute is, imo, brief.
 
With burgers the idea is not to overwork the meat. If you work it too much with salt you develop myosin (what Geir is talking about) and you're making sausage at that point, not burgers.

The trick is grilling them until the patty is seared enough that the sear "releases" from the grill. They won't stick that way.

Also oil your grill grates and be gentle. I personally (blasphemy!) think that burgers are better fried on a griddle or flat top or pan than grilled on grates anyway. Lots of flavor escapes in the form of beef fat.
 
I didn't realize this had so many different techniques. Sounds like it requires a careful hand when working with these. We have been pan frying them in cast iron lately, however I like that charcoal taste that I get from the grill. Has anyone tried freezing them and putting them on the grill that way? Thanks...

Spencer
 
Visit ahamburgertoday.com. Search recipes by "J. Kenzi Lopez-Alt." You'll find a ton of info on creating great burgers at home, grinding your own, reverse engineering commercial sauces, etc. His recipe for White Castle like sliders and patty melts are spot on. Plus, great burger **** with reviews of hambergers across the country.
 
DenverDave- thank you for the translation!
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My point is- as long as you are going to salt the burges, why not release some of the myoisin to keep the burgers together?
Easy does it, and I grind my meat very coarse. Almost as small chunks of meat.
In my book it's better to make coarse burgers that stick together, than burgers that fall apart at the slightest touch, or finer ground burgers.

As long as you grind your own, you will be getting much better burgers than you can buy in the supermarket.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
No need to add anything. Don't use lean beef, don't grind too fine, don't overwork (mix briefly in your hands, form the patty; done), and don't flip too soon. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

This! And add the flavours coarse ground ontop of em...Salt/black pepper is enought for almost any burger. Then tweek it with the toppings instead. My 2 coins
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I had that problem after watching the Good Eats episode on burgers. As much as I am a fan of AB, he does greatly exaggerate things from time to time and overworking hamburgers is one of them. I followed his recipe for grinding my own, gingerly shaped 2 patties, and found I might as well have been cooking spaghetti on my grill. A little more working solves the problem.
 
I did some digging and I found my nearest bbq store (30 miles away) and decided to check it out. They had everything and them some. My credit card is still whining.

Anyway, in their baskets section what do I see????

http://www.flickr.com/photos/m...40198/in/photostream

Check out the photo. It's a hamburger basket to solve this very problem. it only does four at a time, but for our family that is perfect. I paid $16.99 and I figured that wasn't bad at a "gourmet" store. My father also found this on the Bed Bath and Beyond store website. I'll try it in the coming days and let you know how it works. Thanks....

Spencer
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave from Denver:
With burgers the idea is not to overwork the meat. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's our thought as well. We've moved to the 'smash burger' technique. So if we have a pound of ground beef, we'd plop it on a cutting board, cut it into 4 equal quarters, and then gently take our hand and squish the sections into burgers with as little movement as possible. The idea is to do it with one motion - and your done. Sometimes they come out a little square, but who cares. We then season the top, place that side on the grill, and then season the the other side. Oh, and there's always cheese involved - typically yellow in color!
 
Usually I buy ground beef from the butcher shop that I buy tritips from, and not the grocery store. It is $2.99 a LB at the butcher shop and so much better that the ufo stuff from the grocery store. I take the beef and form a ball tennis ball to hardball size then compress it between my hands to burgers in one motion. I am also one of those guys that flips 1 time only, and usually get nice burgers that way. Good fresh not frozen beef makes a better burger.
 
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