The number one complaint I hear about using home-made hamburger patties is that they fall apart on the grill. I’ve solved that problem with a couple extra ingredients and some resting time in the fridge!

My rule of thumb for helping burgers stick together on the grill:
- Add 1 egg per pound of meat
- Add 1/4 cup bread crumbs per pound of meat
- Let patties rest in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before grilling
If you’re not working with a perfectly round number when it comes to pounds of meat, just round down to number of eggs. We still want the beef to be the star of the burger and nor be overwhelmed by egg or bread crumb.
The rest of the ingredients I use in this recipe are purely there for flavor, not the structural integrity of the patty. Once the patties are formed, I just let them sit in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before throwing them on the grill. It’ll help the patties stick together better if they’re cold when they hit the grill vs when they’re at room temperature.

If you want to freeze your patties, I recommend laying them out flat on a cookie sheet thats lined with wax paper or a silicon baking sheet like the photo below, and then putting them in the freezer. Once the patties have frozen all the way through, likely 6-8 hours, you can stack them with wax or parchment paper in between them in an air tight container. (This could be Tupperware or a freezer bag.)
