Why do my veggie burgers fall apart.

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
If I buy the ones in the store they hold together like hockey pucks, but I don't like to buy them because of all the preservatives, etc..., so in my mind I think: How hard can it be to just make my own. So I decide to be a maverick about it and make my own recipe, and that way I can just put in the stuff I like.
I put the following ingredients in a bowl.
2 eggs
diced carrots
diced onion
diced celery
diced bell pepper
1 can of Black beans drained well and smashed
diced green olives
sunflower seeds
I mixed it all together with spices and it seemed to bond together pretty good
I plopped them in a frying pan with olive oil and they held together ok until flipping time when they just rebelled.
I thought of that Captain & Tenille song: "Love will keep us together", and I love them, but apparently my love means nothing. They just fall apart like Chinese furniture.
Anyway, I know I'm screwing up somewhere, but I'm still a rookie in the kitchen and any advice would be appreciated.

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Jace said:
Looks pretty good..and you should be proud of yourself to have tried.👍
Celery has water.
Try..'dusting' with bread crumbs..both sides.. before cooking.
Good Luck!
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Oh, I completely forgot. That was one of the ingredients I put in was wheat thin cracker crumbs, but they were on the inside, not on the outside, if that makes any difference. I did it to soak up any moisture and add flavor. Didn't help though.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I agree. For veggie burgers they look perfect to me. Good job. Putting everything through a food processor might make all the ingredients a bit smoother.
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Yeah, I sold my food processor at the estate sale after my wife passed. That was probably a dumb thing to do now that I look back on it. I guess I figured I could just dice stuff up if I needed to.
 
Usually the eggs keep everything together. I used to do bean burgers all the time for my late husband (he was vegetarian). There's a knack to it. You also might want to try different amounts of everything to see what works best. I would press down on the top to make sure everything was bonded, and flipping became an art, really. A flick of the wrist....but anyway, it will all go in the same stomach, so if it's not all in one piece, the taste will be the same! Enjoy!
 
palides2021 said:
Usually the eggs keep everything together. I used to do bean burgers all the time for my late husband (he was vegetarian). There's a knack to it. You also might want to try different amounts of everything to see what works best. I would press down on the top to make sure everything was bonded, and flipping became an art, really. A flick of the wrist....but anyway, it will all go in the same stomach, so if it's not all in one piece, the taste will be the same! Enjoy!
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The pressing thing just might work. I think maybe too if I cooked them slower, it might give everything a chance to bond before flipping. I don't know.
 
bobcat48 said:
Lol, well, I'm not in the habit of eating cardboard, so I'll have to take your word on that one.
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Your veggie burgers look great! Are they falling apart because they are sticking to the pan? If that's the case, a pat of butter or light olive oil will help.

Only veggie burgers we eat are MorningStar Farms Griller's Prime, they are pretty good and we put a pat of butter in the pan and kind of give them a seared outside.

Kudos that you're doing your own. (y)
 
bobcat48 said:
If I buy the ones in the store they hold together like hockey pucks, but I don't like to buy them because of all the preservatives, etc..., so in my mind I think: How hard can it be to just make my own. So I decide to be a maverick about it and make my own recipe, and that way I can just put in the stuff I like.
I put the following ingredients in a bowl.
2 eggs
diced carrots
diced onion
diced celery
diced bell pepper
1 can of Black beans drained well and smashed
diced green olives
sunflower seeds
I mixed it all together with spices and it seemed to bond together pretty good
I plopped them in a frying pan with olive oil and they held together ok until flipping time when they just rebelled.
I thought of that Captain & Tenille song: "Love will keep us together", and I love them, but apparently my love means nothing. They just fall apart like Chinese furniture.
Anyway, I know I'm screwing up somewhere, but I'm still a rookie in the kitchen and any advice would be appreciated.

View attachment 294188
Click to expand...
 
I have tried to grill some types of fish that also fall apart when only grilling them. If I put a coating on them, I can turn them otherwise, they fall part when I flip them over.

I caught a bunch of Halibut while in Alaska and tried to grill them over my campfire, but they wouldn't stay together when I turned them over. What's the secret? I plan on going back up there maybe next spring. I like visiting Skagway and Sitka.
 
Your burgers look and sound delicious. Anything I would have suggested has already been mentioned in your comments, so I hope you'll find something that works. I'll be having a Dr. Praeger California Veggie Burger for lunch today, but those stay together well... most likely 'cause of the preservatives. 😳 NO! I'm wrong... I just got curious and checked the ingredient panel on the Praeger burgers! I'm impressed!

Ingredients​

Carrots, Onions, String Beans, Oat Bran, Soybeans, Zucchini, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Peas, Broccoli, Corn, Soy Flour, Spinach, Red Peppers, Arrowroot Powder, Corn Starch, Garlic, Corn Meal, Sea Salt, Spices
 

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