How to Make Your Hamburgers Stay Together

Now that summer’s right around the corner, a lot of people are already licking their lips, thinking of all the delicious eats they can make on the grill. This means corn on the cob, hot dogs and, of course, burgers.

While you can buy already-made burgers from the store, there’s just something so satisfying about homemade hamburgers. However, you may run into the frustration of your hamburgers not staying together. No one wants to eat a burger that’s falling apart, so use these tips to get your hamburgers to stay together.

This best hamburger recipe results in burgers that are juicy, mouthwatering, rounds of beef that have not fallen apart on the grill or in the frying pan.

If your burgers are still a little pink in the middle after cooking, that’s totally fine; it just means that they’ve been cooked to medium-rare. You can also cook your burgers to medium or well-done by leaving them on the grill or pan for longer.

Total Time: 20 minutes | Prep Time: 10 minutes | Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Start by heating up your grill to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (your hand should feel hot when hovering over the grill). If you’re using a stovetop pan, turn it to medium heat. Add olive oil to the pan or spray the grill.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients in any order and then form the mixture into four hamburger patties. Add to the pan or grill and cook the patties for 5 minutes on each side, or until they come to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F as measured with a meat thermometer.

This isn’t just about making hamburger patties; it’s about making hamburger patties that stay together.

1. Start by mixing the meat: When combining all the ingredients to make the burgers, make sure to not overwork the meat.
   
   
2. Divide the meat: When figuring out how large to make your patties, consider the size of the buns that you plan to use. Ground beef with a higher fat content shrinks more when cooking, so you’ll want to keep this in mind to perfect the bun-to-burger ratio.
   
   Additionally, when dividing the meat, ensure that the patties are all the same size. This ensures that they cook evenly in the same amount of time.

1. Shape the patties: Unfortunately, shaping hamburger patties is not as simple as just flattening a ball of hamburger meat. After flattening them, create a “dimple” in the middle of each patty with your finger to help prevent shrinkage as they cook.

Additionally, round out the edges of the patties while shaping them in your hands. The end result should be tightly compacted rounds of meat.

Using eggs in your burger mixture is useful since they help prevent the hamburgers from falling apart by acting as a binder to hold all of the ingredients together.

However, if you’re vegan or don’t have eggs on-hand, either skip them entirely or use an egg substitution, such as dry breadcrumbs, which can be used alone or combined with flax seeds.

To substitute flax seeds for eggs, mix together 3 tablespoons of warm water with 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds. Let the mixture sit for one minute before using.