Ground beef mixed with onion, garlic, cumin and oregano, bound with an egg and fried as patties. Six servings in fifteen minutes, and there is no breadcrumb in them.
One egg and nothing else
A pound of ground beef, an egg, half an onion, a clove of garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. That is the list, and what is absent from it matters as much as what is on it.
There is no breadcrumb, no flour, no soaked bread. A burger recipe would have at least one of those, and they exist to hold the meat together and to keep it tender.
Without them these are more fragile in the pan and they taste more strongly of beef. It is a trade, and this recipe has made it deliberately.
Press them firmly
Because there is so little binding it in, the shaping matters more than usual.
Take a portion, press it between your palms and keep pressing until it holds as a single piece with no cracks around the edge. A patty with a crack in it will split along that line the moment it goes in the pan.
Then leave it alone once it is frying. A patty that is turned before the first side has browned has nothing holding it and will tear.
Mix with your hands
The third step says to mix with your hands and it is worth doing rather than reaching for a spoon.
You can feel when the egg and the seasoning are distributed evenly, which a spoon cannot tell you, and a spoon compacts the meat in patches.
Do not keep going once it is combined. Meat worked too long goes dense and springy.
Flatter than a burger
Torticas are not burgers and the name says so: a tortica is a little flat cake.
Made thin, they cook through in the couple of minutes a side that a skillet gives them, which matters because there is raw egg in the mixture. Made thick, the outside browns long before the middle is done.
More ground beef
- Homemade meatballs — the same mixture, rolled.
- Chicken or beef burger — with a bun and a sauce.
- Sudado de albóndigas — simmered rather than fried.
- Ground beef and potatoes — the everyday one.
Beef Patties FAQ
No, and there is no flour either. One egg binds a pound of beef and that is the whole binding. It makes them more fragile than a burger and it means nothing dilutes the meat.
Either they were not pressed firmly enough when shaped, or they were turned too early. Press them hard when you form them and leave them alone until the first side has browned and released.
Thinner than a burger patty. They cook through faster, which matters with raw egg in the mixture, and torticas are meant to be flat.
You can, and they will hold together more easily. It is a different thing from what this recipe makes, and the meat flavour is noticeably diluted.
Rice, salad or any sauce you like, which is what the last step says. In Colombia they turn up with rice and a fried plantain more often than anything else.
Yes, a few hours in the fridge. Chilled mixture also shapes more cleanly and holds together better in the pan.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 egg (the only binder)
- ½ onion (finely chopped)
- 1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
- A dash of cumin and oregano
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- Oil (for frying)
Notas
Instructions
- Put the meat in a bowl.
- Finely chop the onion and the garlic and add them to the meat.
- Add the egg, the cumin, the oregano, salt and pepper, and mix it well with your hands until everything is evenly combined.
- Take portions of the mixture and shape them into patties with your hands, pressing them firmly so they hold together.
- Fry them in a skillet of hot oil, browning both sides until they are cooked through.
- Lift them out, drain them on paper towels and serve. They go with rice, salad or any sauce you like.
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