Background: You know how everyone’s recipes for burgers, meatloaf, and meatballs are slightly different and how many of them involve crushed up crackers or breadcrumbs or egg or whatever? Those add-ins likely have their roots in the panade. I’ve tried many of the binders and stretchers. The classic panade is by far the best. Use this move whenever you have very lean meat, want to stretch meat, or will be cooking meat for a long time (as with meatloaf or meatballs).
- Get some lean ground meat.
- Get some steamed garlic.
- Get two slices of old-ish bread per pound of meat.
- Get four tablespoons of milk per pound of meat.
- Mash the garlic and the bread together in a bowl.
- All the milk a tablespoon at a time.
- When you get a paste the consistency of mashed potatoes, mix it into the ground meat.
- Cook the meat.
Why It Works
- Fatty grinds don’t need a panade as much because the fat keeps the meat moist. If you have a fatty grind but you want to stretch it, I would cut down on the amount of milk significantly.
- Many other types of garlic can be used here, too. Roasted, blanched, or granulated are fine.
- This can be stale or fresh.
- Adapt the amount of milk used based on how hard the bread is.
- This isn’t in the classic panade, but I like to add garlic here because mashing it with the milk and bread helps distribute it evenly throughout the meat.
- Add it a little at a time so you can adjust based on the consistency of the bread, the fattiness of the meat, and the chunkiness of the garlic.
- While you can really mash the heck out of the panade, you want to go easy once you start introducing it to the meat. Proteins tighten when cooking, pushing moisture out and starches absorb moisture. So you want everything kind of packed firmly enough so that it doesn’t crumble, but loosely enough so the proteins and starches can exchange the goods.
- Another thing a panade does is make the meat forgiving to overcooking. While I don’t usually use a panade with burgers, if I want to stretch the meat and I’m not sure how fast my kids will come to the table, I’ll use this move. For the same reason, it’s worth considering using it at informal outdoor gatherings where burgers are being served. I guarantee a burger cooked with a panade will hold better when the uncle manning the grill is in the weeds (or in his cups).
Mods:
- Consider adding seasonings and herbs to the panade before adding it to the meat.
- Try using different types of breads and see which ones work and which ones don’t.
- Could you make a panade with leftover corn chips? I’d like to see you try.
- Vary the dairy. Experiment with buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt, cream, half-and-half, etc.