Nothing’s more frustrating than spending time grilling burgers, only to find that your hamburger buns are falling apart as soon as you put the meat on them.
Most of the time, hamburger buns fall apart because the fat and juices from the meat make the bun soggy and cause them to fall apart.
This article will explore why hamburger buns fall apart and 6 ways you can stop this from happening.
Why Hamburger Buns Fall Apart
Before we get into possible solutions for falling apart hamburger buns, let’s take a closer look at why they fall apart in the first place.
1. Your Hamburger Patties Are Too Rare
When fat and meat juices are released from the hamburger patties, the buns will fall apart.
This is made worse when your hamburger patties are too rare, simply because more fat and juices will spew out of them.
The bottom of the bun especially tends to absorb too much meat juice, and since rare patties spill more juice than the others do, this can be a recipe for disaster.
The smartest thing to do is make sure that your hamburger patties are never too red or pink in the center.
2. You’re Using the Wrong Type of Bread
It’s tempting to use other types of bread besides hamburger buns, but this is a major reason why hamburger buns fall apart. Buns made for holding hamburgers are going to work well, but ciabatta, baguettes, brioche, and other types of bread may fall apart if you use those instead.
Many of them are simply not thick enough to hold a hamburger patty successfully. In other words, be careful when you’re buying buns for your next hamburgers so you don’t purchase the wrong ones.
The main reason your hamburger bun is falling apart is because there is too much liquid on your bun, so as soon as you start eating it, the juices cause the bun to get too wet and start to fall apart.
The wetter your bun is, the faster it will absorb things such as meat juices and fat. The sooner these things are absorbed, the sooner the hamburger bun starts to fall apart.
Sweet buns aren’t necessarily bad, but they can cause your hamburger to taste a little “funny” because of the sweetness. The main thing you have to be aware of is making sure the bun you’re using is not too thin.
Check out this video on some mistakes to avoid when making burgers at home.
6 Ways to Stop Hamburger Buns Falling Apart
As you can guess, there are remedies to all the problems mentioned earlier which can help you enjoy a nice juicy hamburger and a bun that doesn’t fall apart as you’re eating it.
A little common sense will help you figure out the solutions to this problem, but there are other things you can do that may not have occurred to you. Fortunately, all of the remedies are simple.
Here are some of those remedies that can help avoid the problem of a hamburger bun that falls apart:
1. Cook Your Hamburgers Well
Since the juice coming from the burger itself is a common reason for hamburger buns that fall apart, make sure you cook your burgers until they’re at least out of the “rare” phase.
If you really love rare burgers, just press the meat with a spatula before you put it on the bun so that more of the juice pours out of it.
Just remember to avoid overcooking the meat otherwise it might turn out rubbery. For more on this, check out my article here: Why are my hamburgers rubbery? | 10 Reasons and solutions
2. Use the Right Type of Bun
Buns that aren’t made specifically for hamburgers might be too hard, too soft, or even too sweet, and all of these can affect the stability of the bun once you put a burger on it.
Instead of using bread such as brioche or baguettes, try potato buns, sandwich-size English muffins, sourdough rolls, and even Kaiser rolls for bigger patties.
3. Re-order the Ingredients
When you’re making a cheeseburger, most people place the cheese on top of the patty, but if you place the cheese on the bun first, it isn’t as likely to fall apart.
The cheese essentially produces a buffer between the bottom of the bun and the hamburger patty, which helps it stay together instead of falling apart. It’s a simple move that works.
4. Create a Barrier to Stop the Juices
Much like the cheese, you can also use a barrier to stop the juices from flowing onto the bun. For this, consider either a thick piece of lettuce or some type of fat, such as mayo or mustard.
Both of these things can be placed on the bottom of your bun before you place the meat on it, and they’ll prevent most of the juice from getting onto the bun.
5. Toast the Bread First
When the hamburger buns are lightly toasted first, they become a little stiffer and can therefore absorb more of the fats and juices than they would otherwise.
You don’t even have to toast them until they’re a dark brown; even a light toasting will help a lot. Of course, it doesn’t matter how dark the bread is in the end because any amount of toasting will do.
6. Eat Your Burger Upside Down
This may sound like an odd tip, but it works. Just eat the hamburger upside down. When you make the burger, a lot of the juices will naturally gravitate to the bottom bun, and most of it will be soaked up at that point.
When you start eating the bun, most of the juices will have already been absorbed, so you should be able to eat it without the bun falling apart.
Conclusion
Hamburgers are a great meal or snack, but when your hamburger buns keep falling apart, it can affect how you eat them and even leave you frustrated.
By reducing the amount of fat and meat juices from getting to the bottom bun, including using barriers such as condiments and lettuce, you can stop this from happening a lot of times.
I am an accredited practicing dietitian, experienced gardener and a dedicated cook. I love writing and sharing my experience so you can learn from my successes and mistakes.