For the last couple of years, I’ve used 5% fat mince when cooking. It has worked out well and we’ve been able to reproduce almost all of the dishes that we used to make with high-fat mince. When making burgers, we’ve had to make some adjustments.
Making burgers with 5% fat mince can be beneficial if you’re trying to cut your calories, or if the 5% fat mince is being sold out at a reduced price. But how should it be done?
You can use 5% fat beef mince to make burgers, but they do not hold together as well as higher fat meat. To make burgers with low-fat mince, you can either cook the burgers in a greased skillet, add fat to the meat, or cook your meat in a cooking pan. Low-fat meat is difficult to use on an open grill, so we recommend you either add fat to the meat or cook it on the stove.
Don’t give up on using that low-fat meat you found on sale at the grocery store. There are many ways to make this meat as tasty and juicy as regular, higher-fat meat mince. If you want to know how to make some tasty, lower-fat burgers then keep on reading!
Will Burgers Made on 5% Mince Stick Together?
Burgers made with low fat, 5% mince, will not stick together very well. Fat is the main binder in meats such as beef and chicken since there’s little to no gluten in meat. Therefore, if you’re looking to make burgers on a grill you might need to use fattier meat.
There are a few things you will be able to do in order to make your burger patties stick together better. The essential methods include different cooking methods or adding certain ingredients.
- Add animal fat (lard or beef tallow)
- Add eggs, egg whites, or egg yolks
- Add glutinous flour and oil
- Add oil in the center of the burgers
- Add a slice of butter or margarine
- Cook them in a skillet over the grill
- Bake them in the oven
- Do not thaw frozen meat
Each of these methods can help you get your patties sticking together better. We will go over each of them in more detail below.
The goal is to try to compensate for the lack of fat by adding some other binding agent. And, the method you choose depends on what it is you’re hoping to accomplish with your meat mince.
If you have low-fat meat for health reasons, then you will want to use a healthier oil or egg whites. The best options are olive or grapeseed oil which does not contain the negative fats found in beef.
However, if you just happened to get a good deal on low-fat meat, then you can just add beef tallow to your burgers. You can find this for fairly cheap at the supermarket or collect it from previously cooked burgers and store it in your fridge to add it when you’re ready to use it. \
How to Make Burgers With 5% Fat Mince
We already discussed some of the best ingredients for adding a binding agent to your burger patties. To avoid having the burgers crumble as you try to shape them, keep them to a smaller size.
Smaller patties are less likely to crumble and will retain their shape better. You can also prevent them from crumbling by adding butter or oil to the frying pan so the meat won’t burn.
The general steps for making your 5% fat burgers include:
- Thaw your frozen meat and add it to a clean bowl or pot
- Add your binding agent of choice and any seasoning you wish (we recommend onion, garlic, and pepper)
- Mix together thoroughly with clean hands, a mixer, or a spoon
- Once mixed, take a handful of meat, about twice the size of the average meatball
- Roll it into a ball and flatten it in the palm of your hands
- Add your burgers to a frying pan with a tbsp of oil or butter
- Cook thoroughly and turn them over as little as possible to prevent breaking them
Below we will discuss some of the methods in more detail.
How to Add Egg to Your Burger Mince
Eggs can be added to your raw meat as long as it is uncooked and unfrozen. You can add the whole egg, which we recommend, or just the whites or just the yolk.
If you’re worried about fat, then the egg whites should be effective at binding the meat together. However, it won’t add any moisture to the meat which will impact the flavor a little.
Once you add the eggs (approx 3 eggs for several pounds of mince) use a mixer or your cleaned hands to mix the eggs into the minced meat. Once fully mixed, you can form them into patties and freeze them with parchment paper and Ziploc bags.
How to Add Glutinous Flour and/or Oil
Use uncooked and thawed mincemeat and add glutinous flour and oil to the meat. Generally, you can add about 1 cup and 4 tbsp of oil per 2-3 pounds of meat.
The best type of flour you should add is glutinous rice flour. This can be a little difficult to find at a conventional supermarket, but Asian food stores or online markets tend to have it regularly available.
Alternatively, you can add potato starch or arrowroot starch to your meat along with oil. You can also use butter or margarine on the meat if you do not have oil available.
Can You Add Fat to Lean Ground Beef?
You can certainly add fat to your lean ground beef. However, the type of fat you use could potentially impact the flavor of the mince. The best type of fat to add for flavor purposes is beef tallow. It’s not the only option though.
You can also use lard or bacon fat which is a healthier option due to monounsaturated fats. Similar to olive oil, these types of fats are known to increase the amount of good cholesterol in the bloodstream.
You can also add turkey fat, but this is more difficult to find and gather. So, we would not recommend this option unless you have access to it easily.
We would not recommend you use any type of oils with strong flavors that are too dissimilar to beef. A good example would be fish oil.
While pork fat does have a flavor, it is similar enough to compliment the flavor of the beef without overwhelming it.
How to Add Fat to Your 5% Beef Mince
The best way to add meat fat to your 5% beef mince is to start by thawing your burgers. The safest way to thaw your frozen meat is by placing it in a bowl and letting it thaw in the refrigerator.
If you use this method, which we recommend, you should prep your meat the day before you want to start using it. Therefore, give your meat 24 hours to thaw in the fridge, so that it is ready to go when you are. If you want some more advice on how to safely handle your food, please check out our article on the topic here.
Once your meat is thawed, add your spices of choice and 2 tbsp of room temperature animal fat. If you use beef tallow or lard then 2 tbsp per 3-4 pounds of meat should get it to the 80-90% fat ratio.
These are the steps you should take to safely add meat fat to your beef:
- Place thawed, but refrigerated beef mince in a culinary mixer, or place in a large bowl
- Add proper proportions of beef tallow or lard to the beef (again, see above for approximate measurement)
- Mix together thoroughly, but be careful not to overwork the meat or it will get tough
- If you use a culinary mixer make sure you use a low setting and pause it regularly to ensure the meat is mixed evenly
- If you use your hands make sure you mix the meat together in a folding gesture, almost like kneading dough
- Form into patties and either freeze or cook
Just remember, the measurement of fat to ratio is a general rule of thumb. Chefs preparing their meat do not usually measure by tbsp or cup when adding fat to lean meat. Rather they do it by ounces and therefore say your ratio should be two or three parts meat to fat.
However, for those of us who do not have scales, using the tbsp measurements above will help you stay on track!
How Fat Should Mince Be When Making Burgers?
The ideal fat content for making burgers is between 10-30% fat. This means if you purchase 70-90% lean beef mince you should be safe to assume your burgers will hold together. It is only when you go below the 10% fat ratio that you begin to experience issues with the beef holding together.
An important thing to remember is that the fattier the meat the higher the cooking heat needs to be. This is because if you cook fatty meat on a low heat setting it can create a wet, soggy, and unpleasant experience.
The nice thing about fatty meat is it creates the juicy, flavorful, and crisp exterior we all associate with a fast-food burger. Ideally, if you are cooking your patties on an open grill you should use at least 20% fat mice.
This level of fat will create a crisp burger with charred edges, but won’t impact the juicy interior. Burgers made with 10% fat (90% lean) burger mince may get dry on the inside because of the high heat of the grill flames.
Can You Drain Fat From Mince?
There are a few ways you can drain fat from mince, but the easiest way to accomplish this is to let your burgers cool down on paper towels.
After cooking your burgers the fat softens and turns to an oil-like goo, so when you place the patty on paper towels it will draw out and gather the fat. Other methods include straining the fat from the pan as they cook or collecting it with a baster.
The most popular method of gathering the fat from the burgers with paper towels after they cook is simple.
Just cook your burgers in a frying pan or skillet and after they are done place the patties on a plate with paper towels spread out on the surface. Make sure you use double or triple layers of paper towels rather than a singular towel.
The other option is to gather or dump the fat from the skillet as the burgers cook. You can use a spoon, turkey baster, or you can just dump the fat carefully into a hot cup halfway through the cooking time.
Do not dump the fat down your sink drain because it will solidify after it cools off and it might clog your drain. If you collect the fat in a cup you can either dispose of it in your garbage can or save it in your fridge.
You can use this fat to increase the fat content of low-fat meat mince or cook potatoes or other fried vegetables. Just make sure you cover the cup with plastic wrap to prevent it from absorbing the flavors in your refrigerator.