A staple of most people’s diets; the burger provides a quick and easy way to feed the family and not feel guilty about it. Burgers, when done right, can be a very well balanced meal: Meat = patty, Grains = bun, Dairy = cheese, Fruit and Vegetables = Ketchup.

Here is where this can go very wrong for a Celiac – the bun and the patty binding. Let me talk about the bun first. I’ve tried a couple bun options. Celimix makes a boxed bun mix that you can make at home. It was okay, very heavy and soaks up ketchup and mustard like those little sponge pocket guys on TV. It’s also labour intensive, and involves things like yeast and oil mixing. Totally way too much work for me!

Kinnikinnick Products also makes a hamburger bun. It comes pre-made and frozen. The buns are okay. Like the Celimix buns, they are really heavy, and when they thaw out they tend to crumble. Not the best scenario for hamburgers. (Note: As I write this, I am learning that Kinnikinnick has heard peoples complaints about their buns and have reformulated the recipe. I look forward to seeing what they roll out and if they improvements are just as they say.)

I knew that I had to keep looking. Okay wasn’t going to be good enough, there had to be better. And there is. GF Patisserie to the rescue again. They make a great hamburger bun. It’s light and fluffy, holds together and has a great crust. Fiance thinks that they are just as good as ‘normal’ buns, so now we don’t bother buying two different types – it’s all gluten free all the time. My only complaint, if you can call it that, is that the buns are small. This is okay when you mix your own patties because you can tailor make them to size, but when you buy the pre-made burgers the buns tend to be a little small.

And let’s talk about the patties. Binding patties can be difficult. Adding too much egg can make them a little slimy, and using rice crackers leaves them a little dry and crunchy. Your best bet is to use GF bread crumbs. I have found that if you save the ends of your GF loaves and dry them out, you have the perfect binding agent for burgers, meat loaves etc.

If you’re at all like me, you think that mixing your own burger patties is still too much work. Ideally, you’d be able to buy the pre-made burgers and just pull out a few at a time so that you are not committed to eating 8 patties or trying to find a way to reinvent them as left overs. Superstore to the rescue. Superstore now sells pre-made GF sirloin burgers that are to die for. They are not the cheapest, but wow they are worth it. So juicy, very thick and easy to BBQ. Yummy, yum, yum is all I can say about it.

Burgers are possible, and you don’t have to settle for just okay. Trust me, once you find your winning combination, your gluten eating friends will be jelous of you, jelous of the great hamburger you’re eating.

And just incase you don’t believe me – here is a picture of my hamburger wonder!

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