Forum: cooking.stackexchange.com
Tags: <substitutions><eggs><hamburgers>
Title: Substitution for egg to bind hamburger mince
Question: My wife is having pregnancy cravings for (homemade) hamburgers, but has developed a prenatal allergy / intolerance to egg.  What is a possible replacement for egg to stop a hamburger pattie from collapsing into mince during cooking?

Answers:
sents: text: Have you tried not adding egg?
text: In my experiments, egg is needed when you add breadcrumbs, but if you just form some ground beef into a patty and fry it, it doesn't fall apart.
text: Hm, let me clarify that.
text: If you take a single blob of ground beef straight from the styrofoam and press it in a patty press, it doesn't fall apart.
text: If you take two pieces and put them next to each other in the patty press, it does fall apart as you cook it.
text: So when I need to add an extra bit, I add it on top.
text: That works.
text: So there is at least one way you can make a hamburger without adding egg.
text: Now, if you wanted to mix spices into the beef, then you might have a problem.
text: I'll admit that.
text: Better than nothing, though.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/304/Kate Gregory
score: 12
sents: text: A bit of corn starch would help if you cannot add egg at all.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/7783/K2so
score: 11
sents: text: I've never used anything other than beef, dry spices, and sometimes garlic to make my hamburgers.
text: Truthfully, I much prefer the taste of a burger with no binders.
text: We buy our beef by the half cow, and make plenty of burgers.
text: Freezer -> defrost -> Mix beef with spices ->
text: Form burgers while still cold (I make a round ball with the meat, them compress it)
text: -> straight to grill.
text: We've never had any issues.
text: I will also say, that my wife is much better at making evenly sized, well formed burgers, that hold together really well..
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/231/talon8
score: 9
sents: text: There are two things you need to do to make perfect hamburgers without egg or other binder.
text: First knead the meat balls so that the meat binds together.
text: Kneading give you a better bind you will get.
text: Press the meat firmly into your mould before popping out.
text: Second, after forming into shape, refrigerate the meat pats.
text: This process first stretches the proteins in the meat.
text: When chilled, the proteins contract again but now they are twisted together in a bond.
text: When cooking, the pat will hold together just a well as any that you buy in a shop.
text: If find that this works even when I add liquids to the meat.
text: I often season my meat with Worcester sauce mixed in.
text: Even with this extra liquid the meat will hold together just fine.
text: No egg required.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/6615/Rincewind42
score: 6
sents: text: You can use what is called a flax egg , it is 1:3::milled flax seed: water (4Tbsp is about 1 egg in terms of binding strength).
text: Not only is flax the secret glue in many vegan recipes, but it might be a good additive for your wife's diet.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/15/mfg
score: 2
sents: text: You can fry it without an egg at all.
text: I just form a patties, leave them on the table or in the fridge for a hour or so and then fry it.
text: Nothing fall apart, everything is fine.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/7845/Sergey Larionov
score: 2
sents: text: I too had an intolerance to egg when I was pregnant with our last child.
text: In place of egg when making hamburgers or meatloaf I used a jar of veal baby food.
text: It helped bind and keep the dish moist.
text: Doesn't really add or subtract from the flavor of the beef either.
text: Best of luck to you!
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/20882/Genia
score: 2
sents: text: Time for some molecular gastronomy.
text: Transglutaminase ("meat glue") should work perfectly.
text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transglutaminase
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/7036/Michael
score: 1
sents: text: 1
text: Tbs flour for 1 Pound of meat
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/20134/V Groves
score: 0
sents: text: Using pork mince will make a good burger as the proteins in pork meat bind naturally
text: and so you do not need the egg to bind the mix.
text: Just work the meat a little to encourage a good mix.
answer_details: author: cooking.stackexchange.com/users/42932/meatmixer
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
Try making the patties without binders, or using a flax egg, a jar of veal baby food or a bit of corn starch. The proteins in pork mince will bind naturally, making it a good choice for burger meat.
You don't necessarily need a binding agent. You can also try using a flax egg or a bit of corn starch.