What are the breadcrumbs for?

[LikeDolphinsCanSwin]

I've got some turkey mince to use up and am thinking of making turkey burgers. Most (but not all) recipes I've found include dried breadcrumbs.

I could make some but it will be a faff (need to defrost bread first etc). But I can't figure out what their purpose is. It's not going to be taste, so do they affect the texture somehow? Or is it to do with holding them together? Is it going to matter if I just leave them out?

Either to pad out the mince, or to coat the burgers in, probably the later. Yiu could try reading the recipes to see?

Hold in the moisture and stop them drying out. Turkey is a very lean meat, so without breadcrumbs they'll be really dry.

It's normally to pad out the recipe. You can make burgers with pure mince and soak up some fat to keep them juicy....it will still stick together.

Ah, to hold in the moisture, that would make sense. Thank you!

They are mixed in, not for coating. I had already tried reading the recipe before I posted

Ffsnosexallowed see i thought this too but i always wondered how becasue breadcrumbs in themselves are dry so how do they keep them moist?

They might seem a bit pointless but they make soooo much difference! When I've skipped the breadcrumbs my burgers were dry and cracked at the edges - totally different texture when you include them :)

It's definitely a texture thing - sometimes you soak them in milk first. That said, I've got a great recipe for turkey burgers that uses chopped up apple instead and they're really delicious (basically, fry some leeks or onion, add to turkey mince and about 1/2 diced apple along with some thyme and salt and pepper. Shape and fry for about 12 mins).

I used to make burgers and meatballs without breadcrumbs and they tended to crack and fall apart.
They are better behaved with breadcrumb added.
They keep them moist by soaking up the juices that seep out as the meat cooks

Calypso that sounds nice

Tonight I was making pork meatballs and forgot I hadn't any bread left and my sage had run out. I threw some Paxo stuffing in instead and blimey it worked well! Very tasty and very moist. I'll be using it more often now. I wonder if it would work with turkey...

Nigel Slater does a turkey meatball/burger that has bacon in it, which is nice, though they are a bit fragile.

The mince sticks to the breadcrumbs and it is the gluten in the breadcrumbs that holds all the bits of mince together.

I never use breadcrumbs now. But would suggest making them a while before cooking and chill in the fridge - helps them keep their shape when cooking. And don't turn too early