Veggie burgers - link with recipes

[jeral Profile]

These ten burgers are from a link which Dena posted elsewhere: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nil-zacha ... 45285.html

It's a bit slow on my computer to load the page then have to load a different page for the recipe, then repeat for the next burger, but is a handy reference for herbs or spices or different coatings and cooking methods used for each. (Helps when tweaking.)

They are each very different so I reckon it's worth a look just to make a list of the primary focus ingredient in each.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Jeral: how good that someone has taken the time to come up with some varieties!
Now I’ve never tasted any of them, but just looking at the recipes, I decided which ones I’d have a go at:
1) Broccoli: Nah! Wheat, pulses, tahini, breadcrumbs – how’s the broccoli going to come through?
2) Portobello Mushroom: why bother ? It’s a stuffed mushroom! Forget the burger moniker
3) Red Lentil Burger: Looked good till I came to “Chia Seeds” and “ Agave Nectar”. Come on – why not add Amazonian purple potatoes too?
4) Reuben Burger: too much artificial (TVP, garlic powder, onion powder, dill pickle juice) crap in that one.
5) Lentil and Brown Rice: sounds really good to me. One to try.
6) Cajun: another that sounds good. Simple but tasty.
7) Black & White Bean: strikes me it would be a bit dry; canned beans, rice, flour,cornmeal – and poor seasoning.
8) Cauliflower and Potato: sounds and looks good. Worth a try.
9) White bean and Sweet potato: too much flour, bread…
10) Eggplant: this could be a hit!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Why do so many recipes (and so many maufacturers) dip their veggie burgers in crumbs?

A non-veggie burger is never crumbed - if crumbed it becomes a rissole or croquette

It's not just a matter of terminology - crumbed patties don't BBQ well and to be honest, if you are going to put it in a bun with the all the trimmings, you probably don't want the texture of the crumb, even if fried until crispy golden

The best veggie burgers I have had were made ot an old Sarah Brown recipe, I htink in her BBC book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarah-Browns-Vegetarian-Kitchen-cookery/dp/0563370378/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338369124&sr=1-3

Based on pulses the trick was to make the bulk mix a day or two early, then thaw it and shape (preferably in a burger press) - the freezing made it all hang together

[efcliz Profile Website]

Jeral: how good that someone has taken the time to come up with some varieties!
Now I’ve never tasted any of them, but just looking at the recipes, I decided which ones I’d have a go at:
1) Broccoli: Nah! Wheat, pulses, tahini, breadcrumbs – how’s the broccoli going to come through?
2) Portobello Mushroom: why bother ? It’s a stuffed mushroom! Forget the burger moniker
3) Red Lentil Burger: Looked good till I came to “Chia Seeds” and “ Agave Nectar”. Come on – why not add Amazonian purple potatoes too?
4) Reuben Burger: too much artificial (TVP, garlic powder, onion powder, dill pickle juice) crap in that one.
5) Lentil and Brown Rice: sounds really good to me. One to try.
6) Cajun: another that sounds good. Simple but tasty.
7) Black & White Bean: strikes me it would be a bit dry; canned beans, rice, flour,cornmeal – and poor seasoning.
8) Cauliflower and Potato: sounds and looks good. Worth a try.
9) White bean and Sweet potato: too much flour, bread…
10) Eggplant: this could be a hit!

3. What's wrong with either chia or agave? The first is very commonly used a binder in vegan cookery and the second is just a type of natural sweetener.
4. Nothing artificial about garlic powder or onion powder, unless you think that chilli powder is artificial too, of course. And dill pickle juice is just the juice from a jar of pickled cucumber; how is that artificial?

[jeral Profile]

Agreed about the seeming lack of seasoning in some and I would definitely tweak some, but that's easily done. Nice to have a few inspirational starting points.

@ Stokey Sue: I am happy with breadcrumbs on some, e.g. soft cauliflower ones which could certainly be better described as a croquette. For some veggie burgers, shallow frying can make the surface tough in an unpleasant way as it can just taste burnt, so is not like a crispy skin. The crumbs form a good protective layer for those. Besides, who doesn't like crispy breadcrumbs?

Talking of cauliflower, I've been meaning to try making a cauli pizza crust, where the base is made from cauli as it'd be good for using up a large head. Recipes on Google look much of a muchness and easy enough.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Good point that some mixes are best made in croquette form jeral

I used to buy some veggie burgers i really liked from Sainsbury, and I stocked up without noticing they were "new improved" - the "improvement" meant replacing some of the nice spicy beany mix with a cheap & nasty crumb coating - I have been off crumbed burgers pretty much since

[Mrs Vee Profile]

Why do so many recipes (and so many maufacturers) dip their veggie burgers in crumbs?

A non-veggie burger is never crumbed - if crumbed it becomes a rissole or croquette

I’ve never put a breadcrumb coating on a veggie burger, but I think manufacturers do it because the coating is cheap and it makes the burger look bigger and weigh more. Cynical......moi?

[Joanbunting Profile]

Hi Mrs Vee

I don't think a crumbed thing really is a burger though it could be a very nice croquette.

I like the sound of the Cajun one.

[jeral Profile]

Crumb coating is also likely to appeal to kids generally who often don't much care what's inside the "tasty crunchy coating". Can't blame supermarkets for knowing which side their bread is buttered on...

A similar spicy beanburger thing happened here a decade ago. A supermarket used to stock a brand of really good ones, then typically replaced them with their own version: tasteless mushy blobs. Actually a good thing as that's when I started making my own

[efcliz Profile Website]

Ha, I didn't even realise when I flicked through that one of those recipes was written by my best friend!