My grandmother, God rest her soul, made the worst hamburgers in the world

[MIButterfly]

and my mother insisted upon following her recipe. She would mix onions and saltine crackers (and maybe an egg, I don't really remember) in with the ground beef. It was so dry it would stick to the roof of my mouth. I asked my mother not to make the hamburger that way and she replied "that's how you make meatloaf." Well then, put it in a pan and call it meatloaf; don't mold it into a patty and call it a hamburger. The funny thing was, in her older years, my mother made a delicious meatloaf. Go figure.

Maybe she found a new recipe.

[deRien]

1. That's how my aunt

had us make meatloaf... it was a way to stretch the hamburger... and feed six kids and various nieces...

[MIButterfly]

2. Yes. My grandmother lived through the Great Depression where people had to stretch everything, reuse everything,

save everything. She never lost those habits.

[debm55]

3. What a sweet story. Thank you MlButterfly.

[applegrove]

4. My mom made great hamburgers. She put in bran.

Last edited Mon Jan 12, 2026, 01:28 AM - Edit history (1)

And used not lean ground beef. And an egg. With Strub's pickles as a condiment. We kids would put newspaper on the floor in the den. We'd eat them sitting on the floor Sunday nights while watching Walt Disney Hour, the Beachcombers and the Irish Rovers. It was some of the only regular tv we were allowed with the exception of the Waltons (Mom grew up on a farm by a mountain during the depression) and the Brady Bunch and Emergency.

I once bought non lean ground beef as an adult and made burgers. It was so good.

[MIButterfly]

5. What a great memory for you, applegrove!

I am not familiar with Strub's pickles. In what part of the country are they sold?

[applegrove]

8. Ontario. They are real kosher pickles. They are sold in the refridgerated

part of the grocery store. We sliced them and put them on top of burgers or sandwiches. I love them.

[displacedvermoter]

6. My mother fried hamburgers to hockey puck texture and taste

That is how my father liked them.

[FullySupportDems]

7. That reminded me of Eddie Murphy

He did a bit about his mom's hamburgers that I related to very much

?si=kOwXM_n5U6K9SaTI

[MIButterfly]

10. LOL! Thank you, FullySupportDems! That was funny.

My mother would never eat at McDonald's, so I never had any McDonald's growing up. After I moved out, I starting eating there. Haven't been back in decades, though.

[FullySupportDems]

12. I noticed when I watched

That the clip didn't include the sweet part at the end, where I remember him saying something about missing those burgers now. It was nice too.

[Marthe48]

14. I thought of this bit when I read the o.p.

I remember my teen kids watching this and laughing their heads off. I can't tell you how many times that I'd say, I can make that at home. lol

[Tetrachloride]

9. I like stretching the meat. Otherwise, its pure meat.

[MIButterfly]

11. Nothing wrong with stretching the meat if it still tastes good. Her hamburgers didn't taste good at all.

They were very, very dry and hard to swallow.

[Marthe48]

13. My Mom made burgers that way

I did too, but my husband didn't like them , so I made plain patties. I miss the ones my Mom made. They weren't dry. She probably made meatloaf the same way, and if there were leftovers, there was nothing like a meatloaf sandwich with ketchup. Interchangeable

[MIButterfly]

15. I wish your mother could've taught my mother and grandmother

how to prepare their hamburgers without drying them out!

[Morbius]

16. It's called a panade.

You mix bread crumbs or cracker crumbs with milk and mix that into your meat mixture. It actually adds moisture as opposed to taking it away. It's a good idea to season this mixture before mixing it into the meat, especially if you're using bread crumbs.