Not using egg as a binder in meatballs/fish balls? Alternatives?

[soupfiend]

OH doesnt like eggs and wont eat them, except for egg fried rice and custard tarts, but only if the label on the custard tart doesnt say 'egg custard tart'

(dont ask)

Anyway, I would like to make some meatballs and also some fish balls that I saw Jamie Oliver do on a show the other day, but they use egg as a binder and he would rather not have the egg in it, do you have to use egg as a binder, what happens if you dont?

I've made meatballs with egg yolk only as DH says the white makes him vomit.
I've also "forgotten" & used whole egg, with no ill-effects.

"What the eyes don't see, the heart doesn't grieve over", although I would never suggest deceiving your DH.😭

We make fish burgers that incorporate a little oil as a binder, but you need to puree at least some of the fish for this to work.

Google “alternative binder to egg” and you’ll get a load of ideas eg the foam off of a can of chickpeas

Was about to suggest this as an alternative. Vegans make Pavlova from this so it works well.

Breadcrumbs work just as well as a binder for meatballs. I frequently make meatballs with no egg and they come out perfect. Just make one slice bread into crumbs (can be gluten free bread if you are gluten free) per 450g of meatballs meat. For meatballs you want to use approx 1/3rd sausage meat to 2/3rd mince beef anyway- the sausage meat also helps the meatballs bind- so 150g sausage meat (can be gluten free) to 300g mince beef.

For fish balls, you can use a bit of mashed potato to bind just like in a fish cake.

Unless there's an allergy I would just use an egg--you don't notice the eggy taste when it's used like this. But if you really want to avoid egg, you can use flax or chia seeds instead. https://www.willfrolicforfood.com/blog/2015/09/gum-free-binders-in-gluten-free-vegan-baking.html

Aquafaba - it's the water from a tin of chickpeas

It ha no taste though, so just don’t tell your OH you are using it?

Well the Jamie Oliver one was with pureed fish so I didnt understand why it needed the egg, Im sure in the past Ive made thai fish cakes with white fish and prawns minced down together and they just hold together but it was a while ago and I cant quite remember

Seeds are good for bread, cakes and so on, but I don’t think they’d taste very nice in meatballs or fishballs.

He eats egg fried rice and egg custard which actually taste like egg! Just make the balls with egg

@SugarandSpiceandAllThingsNaice You can't taste the seeds at all when you use them as a binder. They are very bland and don't taste of much at the best of times. However I think the same about eggs, when used as a binder it's not like you can taste the egginess.

Huh interesting. I might give that a go then :)

Meatballs work without binder - I do turkey mince with just some flavoring in. We do burgers like this too.

Fish I'm not as sure about - but if sone is pureed, I can't see why it wo t work. You might just need to be gentle when cooking them.

I never use any binder with meatballs or burgers, just make sure the mince is at least 10% fat and add seasonings.

I'll just leave it out then, I do have some chia seeds

I dont want to mislead him so I wont put it in

If it's a preference as opposed to allergy, mayonnaise works but obviously it does contain egg. For meatballs a dollop of caramelised onion chutney is a great binder. I'd me tempted to try tartar sauce as a binder for fish.

Just make sure you mix the meat well with the warmth of your hands and it holds together fine.

Does he eat cake? Biscuits? Using egg within food is normal. You can't taste it, and if he eats actual eggy things, I don't understand the issue??

If the meat is fatty enough you don't need a binder. When I make burgers I use 15% fat. When I've had to use lower fat I'll use a dollop of tomato ketchup instead.

An alternative to eggs as a binder, if you do actually need a binder, is a little bread soaked in milk. For 500 grams of mince, I'd use one slice of bread and maybe 2 tbsp of milk. White bread works best, but you could probably use anything. You have to "wring" the milk out after it sits for a few minutes and it turns into a sort of paste that works well for binding. I don't always use a binder for things with beef mince, but the looseness of chicken and turkey mince means that if I don't use a binder, they sometimes fall apart.

He wouldnt eat mayo, unless of course its part of tartare sauce!

You dont have to understand the issue. No one understands the issue. It just is as it is.