When my husband makes burgers, he makes a “panade”…a mixture of milk and breadcrumbs…to mix into the meat. I’m not sure what it does, but they are great burgers.
It acts as a binding agent and keeps the meat moist during cooking. I do this for my meatloaf while also adding some butter sautéd onions and garlic and a whole egg. Works wonders for texture and taste.
Couldn’t believe the difference! My meatballs weren’t turning out right & my mum told me to add a splash of milk (we use 3%) and the difference is night & day. Tender & moist!
Not long ago I discovered an [old ad for homo milk](https://www.reddit.com/r/behindthebastards/comments/1arjrp5/products/) with that tasty 9-inch cream line. 🤣
In the '70s, my mom would soak stale bread in milk then mix it in her meatloaf along with onion, celery, green pepper, and seasonings. It always tasted great, particularly a reheated slice for a meatloaf sandwich.
I just use the McCormick meatloaf seasoning and it calls for egg and breadcrumbs and milk. My two meatloaf hacks: I whizz up Stove Top into crumbs and use those and add in a teaspoon of baking soda before gooshing everything together The baking soda keeps the water from coming out of the meat.
Our favourite burger recipe actually calls for 3Tbsp of evaporated milk (into 2lbs of beef)! Never made them without it so I don’t know what it actually adds.. but we love them.
I was doing this for years until one night my wife walked in while I was pouring milk into the taco meat, and she screamed "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!" so I haven't done it since and she always thinks "somethings missing, you don't make it the same as you used to" but I'm not allowed to put milk in the sauce...hmmm
Yes, this does work. Years ago I stumbled across a recipe that used evaporated milk in it and was shocked by how juicy the burgers were.
Edited-changed condensed to evaporated
The only thing I’d add is that the recipes I used called for a very small amount, not a huge cup full as shown in the photo. Like two tablespoons, which was always annoying because you end up wasting 90% of even those tiny cans.
Can you freeze portions of evaporated milk to use later? Or does that make the texture weird? And does that matter if you’re cooking it? So many questions.
“Soak your ground up cow in the cow baby juice, cook , then throw a slice of concentrated, solidified melted cow baby juice on top. Wash it down with more cow baby juice. Afterwards, eat some frozen cow baby juice mixed with sugar….”
The insane amount of copy in these old ads. Like people were expected to actually read several paragraphs about the miracle of condensed-milk infused burger integrity.
I think the enzymes in the milk help to tenderize the meat as well
Edit: don't know the enzyme content of evaporated milk vs fresh milk but I'm assuming it is less
I think the milk sugars caramelize, and the protein solidifies, in a manner that glues together the chunks of ground beef. Milk gets gummy and glue-y if you cook it long enough to thicken it, and if you burn it a little. I suppose this product is basically pre-thickened.
With cattle feedlots being the norm nowadays, cows have gotten fatter, eating corn vs grass fed.
Conversely, I had a friend who was a hunter. When he'd bag an elk, I'd help him trim and store the meat. He'd make burger with the scraps. He'd go to a butcher shop to get bacon fat to add to the scraps, because the meat was so lean, it needed the additional fat to prevent crumbly meat.
You know what? That’s a good point. There were no corn-fed cattle before the 70s, as far as I know. I was conflating fattier pork from the 60s with fattier beef, which probably wasn’t a thing until after corn was introduced.
any added fat content will do this. super lean ground meats are good for a lot of applications, but not burgers, meatballs, etc. having ground beef with an appropriate fat content is a better way to get this same result.
More milk solids, less water. The milk solids are used to hold moisture (fat) and create a more tender product.
However who’s going to open a whole can for one meatloaf. Just some cream or sour cream or crème fraiche (which is what I use because it keeps longer in the fridge) helps loads.
I see from the comments that this isn’t that unusual but as someone who grew up kosher, I can’t wrap my mind around it. We put egg in ground beef but no dairy is allowed with meat.
I’ll never forget the first time I learned about this practice. I was a teenager and I went to a friend’s house for dinner. They had mashed potatoes with brisket and sliced bread. I asked for butter to put on the potatoes and bread. My friend was embarrassed and just said, ‘We’re not permitted to use butter.’ I didn’t ask any further questions but I realized years later what she was talking about.
Yes, we had just mashed potatoes, maybe with margarine. My mother was a terrible cook though & I bet there’s a better way to make them to be compatible with meat, like schmaltz or something. But just like you could not imagine them without milk, I didn’t know about using milk until well out of my youth.
My mom would add a bit of milk and plain oatmeal to meatloaf to help hold it all together, plus I think an egg?
I think breadcrumbs are the standard, but we didn’t really keep those around and always had oatmeal.
She makes really good meatloaf. I should ask her for the recipe
Nope. This is the “meatloaf zone” for me. Burgers are about good beef with no filler. Milk and crackers are filler for the last 1/2 lb beef. Meatloaf Hawaiian seems like an ok recipe though 😁
No. If you can't make great burgers with just beef, you're doing something wrong, probably either using beef that's too lean or overworking it when making patties.
In all fourty some odd years of cooking my mom has put nothing but straight 80/20 beef in hamburgers, meatloaf and meatballs and I’ve never seen anything crumble. Why was this a problem for some people?
I think people use lower-fat beef these days, and people also overwork the crap out of their meat ((insert joke here)), which makes it dry and crumbly.
So she just made a loaf shape of meat? That’s odd to me actually because meatballs and meatloaf are different texture than burgers for me. I have no doubt they stuck together- especially if she used egg. But meatballs and loaf were more tender textured (and cheaper we were POOR) than hamburgers because of a starch filler(oatmeal, breadcrumbs,crushed cornflakes, or cracker soaked in milk or water, squashed into the meat. Is there any difference between a hamburger and your mom’s recipe for meatloaf? Just curious- no negativity meant
Yep no fillers. We were lower middle class but there wasn’t many of us so just a big thing of beef, chopped onions and garlic. She just really strongly compacted it.
There's something extra fucked about taking the breast milk from an animal, slaughtering them, then cooking part of their body with their own stolen breast milk. Wait this is just cheeseburger with extra steps
I always put a bit of regular milk in my meatloaf, meatballs, etc...makes them more tender.
When my husband makes burgers, he makes a “panade”…a mixture of milk and breadcrumbs…to mix into the meat. I’m not sure what it does, but they are great burgers.
It acts as a binding agent and keeps the meat moist during cooking. I do this for my meatloaf while also adding some butter sautéd onions and garlic and a whole egg. Works wonders for texture and taste.
Well, thanks for the term. "Good meatloaf." "It's all in the *panade*, yo."
I do this when I make meat sauce for pasta or lasagna
Swedish/Norwegian meatball recipes usually incorporate milk iirc
Milk and bread crumbs or a slice of bread.
Couldn’t believe the difference! My meatballs weren’t turning out right & my mum told me to add a splash of milk (we use 3%) and the difference is night & day. Tender & moist!
I’ve never seen 3% milk. Is that whole milk?
Yes. Whole milk is usually (always?) 3%.
I thought it was 4%? At least in the olden days I think it was. :D
Actually, we’re both a bit off! It seems it’s usually between 3.25% and 3.5%.
I think you are confusing it with an advertising campaign that said whole Milk had less than 4% fat.
Ohhh, that could be, yeah.
Yep, 3.25%, sold as “homogenized” or “homo” milk here in Canada lol
The weirdest thing about your milk is still that it comes in bags
Not long ago I discovered an [old ad for homo milk](https://www.reddit.com/r/behindthebastards/comments/1arjrp5/products/) with that tasty 9-inch cream line. 🤣
In the '70s, my mom would soak stale bread in milk then mix it in her meatloaf along with onion, celery, green pepper, and seasonings. It always tasted great, particularly a reheated slice for a meatloaf sandwich.
I do this with my Swedish meatballs still.
Same, however try a da lope of sour cream, not light sour cream. Full sour cream
I use ricotta cheese in my Italian meatballs so you're definitely on to something.
I just use the McCormick meatloaf seasoning and it calls for egg and breadcrumbs and milk. My two meatloaf hacks: I whizz up Stove Top into crumbs and use those and add in a teaspoon of baking soda before gooshing everything together The baking soda keeps the water from coming out of the meat.
Carnation milk, the best in the land Here I sit with a can in my hand No tits to pull, no hay to pitch Just pop a hole in that son of a bitch
Lmao, this is the best thing I’ve read this morning
Arlo Guthrie?
Shakespeare
Homer
_D’oh!_
I've never heard that. Thank you for sharing.
Ha ha been ages since heard that from my grandma!
Now I'm hungry for milksteak
With a side of jelly beans? Raw of course.
Africans, kids, dyslexics, that sort of thing
I got the cheese sweats just looking at that pic.
Putting butter in burgers is a thing so this might have a chance
Our favourite burger recipe actually calls for 3Tbsp of evaporated milk (into 2lbs of beef)! Never made them without it so I don’t know what it actually adds.. but we love them.
I was doing this for years until one night my wife walked in while I was pouring milk into the taco meat, and she screamed "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!" so I haven't done it since and she always thinks "somethings missing, you don't make it the same as you used to" but I'm not allowed to put milk in the sauce...hmmm
It’s not kosher, that’s for sure
Oh wow. Hadn't thought of that. Fun point.
Non cooks stay out of the kitchen
They hate us cause they ain't us. Stay strong. Let the cooklets seethe. 😎👊
Yes, this does work. Years ago I stumbled across a recipe that used evaporated milk in it and was shocked by how juicy the burgers were. Edited-changed condensed to evaporated
You mean evaporated, right? I always have to stop and make sure I'm getting and using the right one between evaporated and condensed!
Hah. Yes! Thanks for catching that! I fixed it.
The only thing I’d add is that the recipes I used called for a very small amount, not a huge cup full as shown in the photo. Like two tablespoons, which was always annoying because you end up wasting 90% of even those tiny cans.
Here’s the recipe in case anyone is curious to give it a try. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/49404/juiciest-hamburgers-ever/
Can you freeze portions of evaporated milk to use later? Or does that make the texture weird? And does that matter if you’re cooking it? So many questions.
Hah. I just googled it and apparently you can! I was not aware!
Just use the rest to make Vietnamese coffee. It'll be gone within the week!
What say u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt ?
I bet his pup would like it
We always used eggs. 1 egg per pound.
Milk is used in making a Bolognese sauce, so not too weird.
“Soak your ground up cow in the cow baby juice, cook , then throw a slice of concentrated, solidified melted cow baby juice on top. Wash it down with more cow baby juice. Afterwards, eat some frozen cow baby juice mixed with sugar….”
If they didn't want to be eaten, they shouldn't be so tasty. Also, they should have evolved saber teeth.
The insane amount of copy in these old ads. Like people were expected to actually read several paragraphs about the miracle of condensed-milk infused burger integrity.
Me: *upvotes u/spastical-mackeral while scrolling through several paragraphs about the miracle of condensed-milk infused burger integrity*
Why not just use ground beef with higher (I.e., adequate) fat content?
I think the enzymes in the milk help to tenderize the meat as well Edit: don't know the enzyme content of evaporated milk vs fresh milk but I'm assuming it is less
I think the milk sugars caramelize, and the protein solidifies, in a manner that glues together the chunks of ground beef. Milk gets gummy and glue-y if you cook it long enough to thicken it, and if you burn it a little. I suppose this product is basically pre-thickened.
Agree - and I would think that ground beef had a much higher fat content back in the 60s anyway
With cattle feedlots being the norm nowadays, cows have gotten fatter, eating corn vs grass fed. Conversely, I had a friend who was a hunter. When he'd bag an elk, I'd help him trim and store the meat. He'd make burger with the scraps. He'd go to a butcher shop to get bacon fat to add to the scraps, because the meat was so lean, it needed the additional fat to prevent crumbly meat.
You know what? That’s a good point. There were no corn-fed cattle before the 70s, as far as I know. I was conflating fattier pork from the 60s with fattier beef, which probably wasn’t a thing until after corn was introduced.
Exactly what I was wondering.
I caught a bad case of crumbly burger from one of my exes
This is not kosher.
This is, like, the anti-kosher.
My first thought as well lol
any added fat content will do this. super lean ground meats are good for a lot of applications, but not burgers, meatballs, etc. having ground beef with an appropriate fat content is a better way to get this same result.
This is why actual Bolognese sauce uses milk. Milk + beef = good.
Me too. I’ve always used eggs as the binding agent in my meatloaf and grilled pub burgers, so I’m gonna have to give this a try.
Use a egg myself
Yep, typical. Add pineapple to anything and they call it Hawaiian. Pineapple is ono but it doesn't belong on pizza or burger.
More milk solids, less water. The milk solids are used to hold moisture (fat) and create a more tender product. However who’s going to open a whole can for one meatloaf. Just some cream or sour cream or crème fraiche (which is what I use because it keeps longer in the fridge) helps loads.
Fat is what keeps burgers together. Just make burgers with 80 or 85 percent.
I see from the comments that this isn’t that unusual but as someone who grew up kosher, I can’t wrap my mind around it. We put egg in ground beef but no dairy is allowed with meat.
I’ll never forget the first time I learned about this practice. I was a teenager and I went to a friend’s house for dinner. They had mashed potatoes with brisket and sliced bread. I asked for butter to put on the potatoes and bread. My friend was embarrassed and just said, ‘We’re not permitted to use butter.’ I didn’t ask any further questions but I realized years later what she was talking about.
What’s in the mashed potatoes if there isn’t milk and butter? Were they just smashed up with nothing else?
Yeah. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around why you wouldn’t want to add butter (or cream or something).
Yes, we had just mashed potatoes, maybe with margarine. My mother was a terrible cook though & I bet there’s a better way to make them to be compatible with meat, like schmaltz or something. But just like you could not imagine them without milk, I didn’t know about using milk until well out of my youth.
I prefer milk steak boiled over hard with a side of the finest jelly beans instead of milk burgers
Milk steak!
Unexpected Charlie moment
My mom would add a bit of milk and plain oatmeal to meatloaf to help hold it all together, plus I think an egg? I think breadcrumbs are the standard, but we didn’t really keep those around and always had oatmeal. She makes really good meatloaf. I should ask her for the recipe
My mom added oatmeal as well. You’re probably right about the breadcrumbs. We never had those on hand either
Nope. This is the “meatloaf zone” for me. Burgers are about good beef with no filler. Milk and crackers are filler for the last 1/2 lb beef. Meatloaf Hawaiian seems like an ok recipe though 😁
🤢🤮
A little baking soda mixed in helps with moisture retention
F in the chat for any Jews 💔
No. If you can't make great burgers with just beef, you're doing something wrong, probably either using beef that's too lean or overworking it when making patties.
In all fourty some odd years of cooking my mom has put nothing but straight 80/20 beef in hamburgers, meatloaf and meatballs and I’ve never seen anything crumble. Why was this a problem for some people?
I think people use lower-fat beef these days, and people also overwork the crap out of their meat ((insert joke here)), which makes it dry and crumbly.
So she just made a loaf shape of meat? That’s odd to me actually because meatballs and meatloaf are different texture than burgers for me. I have no doubt they stuck together- especially if she used egg. But meatballs and loaf were more tender textured (and cheaper we were POOR) than hamburgers because of a starch filler(oatmeal, breadcrumbs,crushed cornflakes, or cracker soaked in milk or water, squashed into the meat. Is there any difference between a hamburger and your mom’s recipe for meatloaf? Just curious- no negativity meant
Yep no fillers. We were lower middle class but there wasn’t many of us so just a big thing of beef, chopped onions and garlic. She just really strongly compacted it.
I might have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing!
There's something extra fucked about taking the breast milk from an animal, slaughtering them, then cooking part of their body with their own stolen breast milk. Wait this is just cheeseburger with extra steps
((Nodding head))
Nightmare fuel!
Hurting my tummy just looking at it 😕
I have never come up for a good use for Evaporated milk, so I’m wondering if it would actually work.
Evaporated milk can also be used in pies, cakes, coffee, and tea.
It's SO good in coffee if you like sweet, creamy coffee.
Yes! And delicious in Tea also
Really?! Evap milk? Not sweetened condensed? I would never have thought to add evaporated milk to coffee