Burger advice?

Question

Tonight I was attempting to make hamburgers...
I had about 2lbs of ground beef and 1lb of ground chuck,
to this I added some Worstechire Sauce, some A-1, some leftover marinade, some various seasonings (garlic pepper, season salt, a small dash of montreal steak seasoning) I also added some chopped onion and some shredded cheese (Like Rachael Ray, I dont always measure I ust eye ball it...) and at the last minute I added some powdered Lipton Onion Soup mix...
Mixed all the stuff up with my hands (yeah I washed them..) put it back in the fridge to get cold again,
turned on the electric griddle to high heat let it heat up, pulled out the burger mixture, made them into patties, plopped em on the grill...
Thing is as they were cooking, they lost structure, the meat wouldnt stay together...

So help please, what did I do wrong here, what could I do to improve it next time?

Answer 1

dont be afraid do man handle that meat, your going to want to make nice solid patties but make sure both frying sides are FLAT!!!!!! this is really really important
then when your cooking it leave it on the first side for longer than you should and it will seal ( the fat will cook out and the meat will char into shape so to speak dont burn it! )

you shouldnt flip the burgers more than twice, the more you flip them the worse they get

i would also try chopping the onion really really small and if you put some egg whites into that meat that will also help keep them together ( probably the best thing you can do ) you wont notice the taste of it in a burger either

Answer 2

Do not use the A-1 sauce just the worcestershire sauce, I use soy sauce. When your done with the mix put them in a form tray or bowl then refrigerate for 15mins to set the mold. Also make sure the fat content isn't to high that can cause a break down of the meat. Lastly make sure the heat is high to ensure the meat sears fast to bond the meat. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

you needed to add 3 large eggs to your mixture (one egg per pound of meat). The eggs hold the stuff together. Also - with all the liquids you added, it probably was a bit too runny (would have made an awesome meatloaf but you still would have needed the eggs)
Also - depending on the amount of cheese - that would have contributed to crumbling as cheese melts thereby losing it's ability to hold together.

Answer 4

Dang dude, those sound more like meatballs. Anyhow, mix an egg in with the meat. It is a natrual binder and you can't taste it. Personally, I like to put the sauce on as the meat is grilling, not inside it. But that is a personal taste thing.

Answer 5

maybe it wasn't moist enough to hold 'em together? I bet it was too dry, try adding a bit more water and a couple of eggs (whole eggs I mean) which should be able to hold them more sturdier as the eggs are a sticking agent...
(Or you could always buy the prepared ones, ewww I hate those!) I'd rather make the food I eat! Props to you for at least attempting, P.S. I'm much way more of a bad cook than you =)

Answer 6

That happens to me sometimes to. I haven't quite figured out how to do it, but I buy the pre-shaped hamburger patties and just season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. I let them sit with the seasonings for about 15 minutes at room temp, then grill um up.

Answer 7

Mix in a couple of whole eggs. The eggs add no extra flavour, and, as you are mixing it you can tell that it is getting more stiff. As you cook them, they will keep the same shape. I made them in food tech earlier this year. Yum.
Good luck!

Answer 8

too much liquid. sounded good though. ya could have added crackers although that would have made it more like meatloaf. did ya go ahead and make sloppy joe..thats what i would have done.



p.s. it was probably the marinade

Answer 9

Too much sauce/liquid, i.e. worcestershire, A-1, & leftover marinade.

Answer 10

the wrong here is to put cold the food, next time we can improve it putting in the grill directly,because we are preparig hamburguer