I can cook a pretty tasty burger on the grill. But I sometimes have trouble with them falling apart when I first go to flip them over. It's not in the technique of how I flip it, they will crumble as soon as I start. To make the patty, I use one of those burger presses my wife bought from Wal-Mart or somewhere. So they're nice and formed to begin with. It doesn't happen all the time, but enough to be annoying.
Any secrets on making a burger that stays together when you flip it?
Pack it really tightly?
I pat mine out by hand. No press necessary. And as mtn said, ball it up and pack it a bit first.
What's your beef mix? Sounds like you might be too lean.
Are they sticking to the grill, or crumbling of their own accord?
Get the grill hot then wipe the slats with a paper towel doused in olive oil. Less pulling on the burger.
Sounds like you aren't cooking on the one side long enough or your missing the egg in the burger mixture.
Ranger beat me to it, 
Sorry... I was thinking with my stomach on this one....... 
Cook longer per side, for sure. Meat will release itself when it's tasty brown. It also helps if the burger is starting out warm enough that the fat is soft and if you've kneaded it together a bit. I always bring my beef close to room temp before cooking.
I start mine on a doubled piece of aluminum foil, then a light sear to seal juices and it won't fall apart after that, then flip and remove foil (save any juices), quick flip again before removing to char the first side.
Are you turning it with a tongs or a spatula?
The mix is use is either 73/27 (which we squeeze real hard after cooking) or 85/15 if it's on sale. I usually use at least one egg white, sometimes two if I make enough.
I have a metal spatula that I use to turn them.
I'll try cooking them a bit longer. I usually don't have the problem after the first flip when one side is already cooked, it's just that first flip. Doesn't happen all the time. I made 10 burgers on Sunday, and only had one crumble.
Why so fatty? You do know that the percentages are based on weight? Fat doesn't hold anything together, just adds worthless mass. Plus you are paying for that added bulk.
The best burgers here are a minimum 92/8 standard. Even that is very fatty, but it doesn't make as big a mess.
I have seen bread crumbs added to soak up the fat present. Although I personally think they dry out a burger too much.
Local supermarket started selling 50/50 beef turkey gourmet mix. After that I won't even buy 93/7 beef.
Fat is flavor. 80/20 is standard.
We always pack our burgers with some breadcrumbs too.
I mix a little BBQ sauce and mustard in the meat before making patties. Adds a little moisture and I think helps keep them cohesive.
One packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and one Tablespoon of A1 Steak Sauce added to 1.5lb of hamburger.
Mix well, hand form into patties.
alex wrote: What's your beef mix? Sounds like you might be too lean. Are they sticking to the grill, or crumbling of their own accord?
Too fatty!
And like others have said let it cook a little longer on the first side so that the patty becomes more of a cohesive whole.
alex wrote: Fat is flavor. 80/20 is standard.
That's an old wives tale. All fat is is cholesterol looking for a home in your arteries and a place to live on your girlfriend's butt.
Ditto on the too fatty comment. Best burgers in my experience are ground sirloin or similar.
Start with good ingredients. Ditch that E36 M3ty Wal-Mart meat and hit up a butcher or decent grinds from a medium to high end grocery store. I get my ground beef from my uncle, a dairy farmer. Its primo. Very lean, and he gets everything but the steaks ground, so there is tons of flavor and not as much lip and assmeat.
You can mix in a little worstechire, ketchup, eggs, breadcrumbs, cracker crumbs, or my favorite, raw oatmeal, into your burgers but then you are pretty much making meat loaf, which is different than a hamburger. Adding eggs to already fatty beef without a substrate like bread crumbs or oatmeal is just making the problem worse.
A burger press? Really? Make a tennis ball sized ball of meat in your hands, then pat it out until its flat and even. No wonder our country is going to crap. It would not surprise me that your press is actually giving you problems, introducing air pockets and discontinuities into your patties.
I also agree with the "leave them on the grille longer before flipping" They can cook almost all the way through from one side, they are not a steak so lower heat is your friend. Like a lowrider, low and slow! Flip with a spatula or flipper, not tongs. If they show even the slightest signs of falling apart, bail, close the grille, turn down the heat, and come back in 2 minutes or so.
One of the common mistakes to grilling is over-flipping. Get to know your grille, flip once, add cheese if thats your thing, pull them off. Dont be constantly lifting the lid and flipping.
Say it with me! Good food comes from good ingredients!
I'll have to try keeping it on the grill a little longer at first. I actually don't flip it much, usually just twice. It's just that first flip that causes the issues.
Wish we could start with 90/10 mix. But with a family of 6, we have to budget where we can. My wife and I are into bodybuilding, including counting our calories and macros. Lots of what we buy is expensive already...greek yogurt, protein powder, natural peanut butter, etc... So we buy the lower cut of ground beef and squeeze the hell out of it after cooking. It gets a ton of the grease out.
And no, the country isn't going to crap because we use a press. I've done them by hand many times, but find that I actually like the press. It makes it easier for me to make measured sized burgers for us.
My first thought was "Grill is not hot enough"
Fast cooking on high heat > longer cooking on low heat
Once of things I actually do is pre-heat the grill at somewhere between medium-high and high, then once the burgers go on, the wife drops it down to medium/medium-high.
Cooking a long time on one side just takes your decent meat and cooks it into jerky. Burgers should have just a but of pink in the middle.
After lots of experimentation with eggs and breadcrumbs, I've found pure meat patties with just spices wind up tasting the best. I don't have any advice about your particular issue, though.
I don't care too much about the fat content of the meat, but the bun needs to be moistened with some sort of fatty juice, whether that be butter, fat runoff (the best IMO), mayo, etc.
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