Sis and I stopped at Winco the other day for a few small items and saw some Beyond Meat burger patties being sold for about $4 for two of them. They looked so incredibly meat-like that we decided we needed to try them for ourselves.
We’ve both tried the Impossible Burger, and like it. Sis has has the Impossible Burger at Umami Burger and we (along with Dad) tried Burger King’s version the day it debuted. I tried an Uncut burger once at BurgerIM topped with cheese, and it was good.
There’s lots of debate about the true healthiness of vegan burgers not made out of mainly vegetables, grains and legumes and intended to look and taste like a meat substitute. It begs the question of why vegan eaters would want to eat something that looked and tasted like meat. But aside from that the ingredients are, to me, a complete mystery. I can’t even fathom how the ingredients listed on the back of the Beyond Meat package are formed into a substance resembling meat. Ima just going to copy the ingredients from the back of the package so you can share in my confusion.
Water, Pea Protein Isolate, Expeller-Pressed Canola Oil, Refined Coconut Oil, Rice Protein, Natural Flavors, Mung Bean Protein, Methylcellulose, Potato Starch, Contains 1% Or Less: Apple Extract, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Beet Juice Extract, Pomegranate Fruit Powder, Lycopene Color (From Tomato).
See what I mean? There’s no real food substance in the patty at all! I have no concept of how you would even attempt to recreate this at home. Luckily since they sell the patties in the store we don’t have to try to recreate them.
What we did try to recreate was a vegetarian or vegan version similar to our favorite burger in Long Beach, Calif., the Arugula Burger at Berlin Bistro (an Angus beef patty topped with goat cheese (I sub havarti), thick-cut bacon, crispy shallots, Russian dressing (I sub harissa mayo) and arugula). We dropped the bacon and added more veggies in its place.
The astonishing thing about the Beyond Meat burger is that it looks like a burger patty before you cook it, while you’re cooking it (the pan gets greasy!), after it’s cooked and when you cut into it. It has a smokey, just grilled meaty beefy flavor too. So weird! But so good if you’re looking for a healthier, non meat burger or if you’d like to cut down on all the meat you eat.
ingredients.
- Beyond Meat burger patties
- Burger buns, regular or vegan (we used brioche)
- Regular or vegan cheese (we used havarti)
- arugula
- sliced tomato
- avocado slices
- onions
- regular or vegan mayo (we used vegan sriracha mayo)
directions.
- Cook burger patties according to package directions. If using vegan or regular cheese, place on top of the patty when you flip over.
- If desired, butter the inside of your buns and place on a preheated pan over medium heat to get the insides of your buns real toasty.
- Top the burger with your favorite burger toppings and serve immediately. Be sure to cut your burger in half so you can see how medium-rare the burger looks. It’s an awesome sight.
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 