What do you put in your beef burger patties aside from beef mince?
I sometimes find mine are a bit tough and also like them to have good flavour so interested to see what you put in yours.

The attached recipe is a favourite for me but it is a meatless patty. Very tasty and satisfying. The cooked patties also freeze very well. [www.epicurious.com]

Carrot, beetroot, cheese, all grated and not always at the same time.. Capers. Tomato sauce. Worcestershire sauce.

In the mixing bowl, first I put about 1/2C panko crumbs and a slosh of milk - enough to soften the crumbs without being wet. This was a tip I read years ago about keeping mince dishes, such as patties, meatloaf and meatballs, moist. I think the term for it is "panade". You can also use fresh bread cut/torn into 1cm cubes. I use about that quantity for 700g mince. It's all pretty vague though. I also use prime mince rather than premium, the extra fat helps

Once that has softened, I add the meat, half a very, very finely diced onion, a couple of good sloshes of Worcestershire sauce, halt a teaspoon of garlic powder, salt, pepper and about a teaspoon-ish of liquid smoke. Sometimes I add minced parsley.

I use this recipe for both thick and thin patties, but I only cook them on high heat on the barbecue. The few times I've done them in a pan they've just not been quite the same - and the mess and stink they make in the house is horrid.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2017 04:04AM by Jenna.

Fattier mince, some grated onion and a beef stock cube crumbled.

Went for dinner at friends a while back who are very health conscious, they had bought venison burgers because they were leaner than beef....they were horrible! Burgers need fat to be tasty and juicy.

This is a recipe taken from BHG, apparently really good

He fried off garlic and onions. Then cut up steak into small pieces and added mince ( 1 part steak to 2 parts of mince ) then he added 2 tsp of celery salt and some cut up sage. Mixed it altogether and wrapped it in film as a log and chilled for 1/2 hour then sliced into patties and cooked it.

BHG??? Big Hairy Guy? Blinking Huge Gadabout?

Better homes and gardens :-)

Grated zucchini and ginger are always good. Hides the veges from the kids and also makes them succulent. There is a great zucchini burger recipe in the original AWW barbecue recipe book that I make all the time.

Adding a couple of tablespoons of yoghurt helps moisten and tenderise the meat. I do that when making lamb koftas, using homemade kefir yoghurt.

Last night I added roast aubergine and capers with moroccan spices. I blitzed it all up and pan fried it.
It was quite wet so in hindsight needed some breadcrumbs but they tasted delicious. I had them on big cos lettuce leaves with orange cherry tomatoes and shaved parmesan.

Usually though I just add mince, some type of BBQ/chilli sauce, possibly a spice mix. I dont cook them for that long either, just get the outside sealed.

I dont use breadcrumbs or eggs unless Im bulking them out for the kids.

They always go down a treat.

Vanessa

PS - I usually buy premium mince, out of habit and preferred taste. I find that I add enough "extra" fat with the compulsory cheese and mayo added. Tomato or BBQ sauce is a must as well.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2017 07:20AM by Vanessa45.

Qi do pretty much the same as most of the above but I like half minced pork as well helps moisten & airate them.

Hamburger Meat Patties (makes 4 thick patties)
Delicious, tasty, moist. Excellent size for hamburgers or simply as a meat patty for a meal.

½ cup fresh breadcrumbs (preferably made from a good wholegrain bread)
2 tbspns tomato paste
2 tspns brown sugar
1 egg (lightly beaten if not using the food processor method)
1 tspn salt & ¼ tspn pepper
1 tspn mustard powder
2 garlic cloves, diced
½ onion (50g) (finely diced if not using the food processor method)
½ apple (grated if not using the food processor method)
400g normal beef mince (NOT premium) (the fat content in the mince is an important part of the recipe)

Food processor method: Place all except the mince into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add mince and pulse to combine.

Hand method: Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well.

Divide mixture into four pieces (ideally weigh the mixture - say 685g - and divide that by 4, so each patty will consist of 171g of mixture). Form into circles 10cm diameter and 2cm high (I use metal egg rings of this size to form mine - see photo with egg ring on one patty as example).

You can chill the patties (covered) for at least 20 minutes in the fridge but this step can be left out.

In a frypan smeared with a little oil, cook the patties approximately 5 minutes each side.

Thank you J1. I will use this recipe,it has everything I like.

My mother use to add egg when mixed she mixed her hamburger to hold it together when cooking. Does any know of another supplement for instead of using egg?

Guy

Here's how I see it, Guy1975: We add fresh breadcrumbs to extend the meat and perhaps 'open' the texture a bit so that they're not little bullets. Adding egg not only binds them, but adds moisture. Try adding a little milk instead, or perhaps a little bit of stock. Not too much, try a couple of tablespoons of liquid and then by the teaspoon if you need more.

Savory
Binders for meatballs, veggie burgers, etc:

Recipe: 1 tablespoon flax to 3 tablespoons of almost-boiling water, whisked = 1 egg

Recipe: ¼ cup avocado = 1 egg

Avocado works well as a binder because it has a nice concentration of fat, just like an egg, McNish says.

The above from [www.today.com]

I don't use egg, instead I use a couple of tablespoons of milk or cream mixed with breadcrumbs or torn white bread. I let them sit in the bottom of the bowl for 10-15min to soften before I add the mince and everything else.

One of the best tips I learned for making patties is to treat them like scones. Mix with a butter knife and only handle as much as you need to shape the patties, and do so very gently. It is something to do with the collagen fibers reacting to a lot of handling and then shrinking causing dense, tough patties. Not dissimilar from gluten formation in bread (although we tend to encourage that!).

I always use the milk and fresh breadcrumbs option, not to "stretch" the meat, but to keep them moist and tender.

Im currently adding powered garlic and onion granules, salt and pepper and nothing else.
Ill add breadcrumbs if I want them to go further though with a squirt of BBQ sauce and an egg.

Vanessa

I've been watching Top Chef Jr on Sunday nights and one of the young chefs puts a cube of butter in the centre of his burger patties. This sounds absolutely genius to me and it apparently kept his burger very moist.

I'm with Vanessa and I think that whatever you use don't overcook them, rather like steak much of the end result is in the cooking process. Lots of people just chuck them on and cook the bejesus out of them and then moan when they're dry.