Vegan burgers or other ideas

mark02tj · Sep 12, 2018

I thought you Aussies would just serve him a vegimite sandwich? :confused3:

:laughing:

txdon · Sep 12, 2018

bunyip said:
We have a friend who is vegan purely for a medical condition and SWMBO has invited her and her other half over for a BBQ when it warms up a bit, meanwhile I get to cook something that resembles a meat burger so I tried one made with walnuts, oatmeal, black beans, onion, garlic, red wine vinegar, soy, Worcestershire sauce, paprika and cumin.
Looked good, cooked up well then I tried it, well, I am glad I am not a vegan, it was described as having a meaty flavour and texture, it didn't.
Anyone have any ideas on a burger type vegan thing I can present and actually eat and enjoy.
I have cooked with gluten flour which works for some dishes but I doubt it would work for this.

Timely thread. Just finished a 5 year study yesterday. I now have verifiable proof that the the silver bullet against heart disease is a plant based diet. When you shop for veggie burgers you have to watch out. Some are not VEGAN or 100% PLANT BASED burgers. You will have to read the label. Watch out for any eggs, cheese (or oils if your vegan friend is plant based for heart disease).

Also I really admire you for the special trouble you are going through. None of my friends the last 7 years have offer to make a Vegan burger for me, I always had to bring my own. A lot of my friends and family include plant based no oil side dishes which I'm grateful for and never really expect anything else. You are truly a very good friend.

The "vegan" burger will never taste exactly like an meat burger so don't worry about that. Your friend will not expect it. Your goal should be a flavorful burger that is filling and enjoyable to eat and stays together on a grill. Sometimes you can pre cook them in the oven to get them to "stay together" add a tab of BBQ sauce and put them on a meatless grill for a few minutes to re-warm them. The whole wheat bun with the garnishes (excluding mayo) will really flavor it up, you know red onions sliced thin, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, mustard.

Your recipe sounds delicious to me. If you want to compare it to my wife's favorite burger here is her recipe taken from Rip Esselstyn's book "Engine 2 Diet".
Oh, found a youtube so I don't have to type it out and you can see the textures.
New York Times Veggie Burgers by Rip Esselstyn - YouTube

ArlyA · Sep 12, 2018

As others have stated, there are some tasty vegie burgers being made these days. Having said that, us **** Sapiens are indeed omnivores.

nbking · Sep 12, 2018

The wife and I had veggie burgers at a BBQ we went to. They were actually okay. Had a good spicy flavor. I believe they were from Costco, like black bean and tofu or hummus not really sure. Yes it is nice your having another choice for your vegan friends.
For a side, thinly sliced potatoes both russet and sweet, soak them in a salted bowl of water for 20 minutes before you start the grill, then cook them up in a grill basket, you don't need any oil.

cqaigy2 · Sep 12, 2018

Big Barn said:
And ditch the bun replacing it with lettuce or romaine leaves.

I don't have a problem ditching the bun, not a fan of the lettuce wrap, but the beer is hard to turn down.

bunyip · Sep 12, 2018

A lot to run with here, we often have meatless meals and enjoy middle eastern foods like turkish bread with our own dips like hummus (and all the spelling variants) baba ghanoush, dukkah etc etc, falafel etc.
Never thought of the portobello mushrooms, I am not a mushroom lover but was once fooled with a swiss brown with caramelised onions, some good relish being passed off as a steak sandwich.
Vegemite, like coke I believe you have to be weaned on it to appreciate it, don't like either.
We try to buy our buns from small bakeries that offer a better product than the big factories, my own choice is multi whole grain.
Will have a look at the health food shops although I find you need a water cooled visa card to buy their products, will also look at what is in the products.
Pizza can be an option too but have not mustered up the courage to try vegan cheese yet and suspect will be dissapointed plus it costs a fortune.
A few weeks to experiment with your collective ideas, thankyou.

txdon · Sep 12, 2018

On pizza our cheese substitute is nutritional yeast flakes to give it that cheese flavor.

goeduck · Sep 12, 2018

nbking said:
The wife and I had veggie burgers at a BBQ we went to. They were actually okay. Had a good spicy flavor. I believe they were from Costco, like black bean and tofu or hummus not really sure. Yes it is nice your having another choice.

Could be a whole lot better for you than what they call beef at some of the burger places. I love my 100% grass fed beef off my pasture, but what corporate burger places serve you, well does anyone know?

bunyip · Sep 13, 2018

txdon said:
On pizza our cheese substitute is nutritional yeast flakes to give it that cheese flavor.

Never heard or seen it but with the help of Professor Google I now know a bit more about it and where I can get it nearby, sounds interesting.
We have a Uuni pellet pizza oven and love the 1 minute NY style pizzas that are not overloaded like a lot of the pizza shops and hope this will work.
Vegetarian pizza is less challenging than a burger but I must admit I do enjoy the challenge even though I do get some pretty ordinary results sometimes.