3 Tips to NEVER Have Your Burger Fall Apart Again (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep burgers from falling apart? ›

We recommend shaping patties, putting them on wax paper, and putting them in the refrigerator to cool back down until you're ready to throw them on the grill. Go easy on the shaping.

By pushing, pulling, and rolling it, the meat will stick together more easily, and that means it's less likely to fall apart when you smash it. By creating balls and adding these to the hot grilling surface, it's going to be easier to press down on them and flatten the meat out.

No, eggs are not necessary for binding burger patties, though they are commonly used for binding them. However, you can use other binding agents such as breadcrumbs, cracker crumbs, potato starch, flour, and porridge oats to bind burger patties according to your preferences.

Egg yolk acts as a binder and adds flavor

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.

Place your thumb on the patty and press down gently. Make it so the patty is about ¹⁄₂ in (1.3 cm) thick in the center. Its edges will still be about ³⁄₄ in (1.9 cm) thick. That small indentation is enough to help the burger hold its shape.

Chill or freeze your burgers

"Chill your burgers for at least an hour before you cook them," says senior food editor, Barney. "This will help them keep their shape when they're cooking and stop them falling apart." You can also freeze them before cooking.

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.

< Quick tips to prevent shrinkage when cooking burgers:

If you're cooking burgers on the grill, don't close the lid. This could cause the temperature of the burgers to get too high, too quick. Form the patties wider than you'd like them to be, and create a small dimple in the center by pressing down with your fingers.

Whether you're cooking steaks with a large fat cap, burgers, or skin-on chicken, foods with a higher fat content will drip more, increasing the likelihood of flare-ups. So, by cutting off any excess fat or skin (anything more than ¼ inch from the edges), you can reduce flare-ups and make your food healthier.

While styrofoam performed the best for burgers in our own testing, you can also opt for cardboard with vents (or create your own) so buns don't get soggy and the burger won't overheat. Boxes with compartments may also offer enough separation while keeping each meal in one container.

How do I keep my burgers from falling apart? ›

Try to work as efficiently as possible and avoid squeezing too hard, since overworking the beef is a big reason why burgers fall apart. If you don't want to grill them right away, however, throw them in the fridge while you wait – colder burgers are less likely to break down when you cook them.

The basic principle of Smash Burgers is to take a big handful of minced beef, loosely packed lest you'll end up with a beef-puck, and then slam it down onto a very hot, flat surface (cast iron pans work perfectly).

You can use parchment paper between the patty and smasher to prevent sticking. Don't flip the patty too soon. You are cooking it mainly on one side. Searing that side and making it crispy on that hot griddle is the goal here.

Those old, crusty bits on your rack aren't just gross—they can cause your beautiful burger patties to stick to the grill and fall apart. If you didn't clean the grill after your last cookout, bring it to low heat, scrape it with a grill brush, and use tongs to wipe the rack with a lightly oiled paper towel.

The most common burger binding agent is egg. This makes your ground beef stick together and is the most readily available ingredient. You can also use potato starch as a burger binding agent depending on your allergies or general availability.

Extra lean burgers fall apart faster. And a burger isn't the food to try to go "healthy". If you mix in other things like breadcrumbs or veggies or whatever, consider adding some egg or mayo to help hold it together. don't move the burgers until they are cooked enough to hold their shape.

Mixing salt, pepper and any other seasonings right into your ground beef is one way to season them. This method has the advantage of distributing the flavors throughout the meat, and it's the only realistic way to get add-ins like minced onion or herbs into the mix.

The most commonly used binding agent for hamburger patties is eggs. They work well with ground meat and are easy to incorporate into the rest of your ingredients.

There are a few ingredients you can add to burgers to help hold them together, such as eggs, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, or even cooked grains like quinoa or rice. These ingredients act as binders and help keep the burger patties intact while cooking.

Salt draws out moisture from proteins, which is a good thing when brining whole proteins like steak. With ground meat, salt can draw out too much moisture, leading to a dry, dense burger. So sprinkle the patties with salt just before grilling to create a juicy interior and a deliciously salty crust.

Do you need to add breadcrumbs to burgers? ›

Breadcrumbs are not usually included in a traditional burger patty mixture, but their addition to this recipe helps give the cooked patties a lighter, more tender texture. If making these burgers gluten free (and serving with a GF bun), you can omit them.