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Vegetarian Burgers


AlexP

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Hello everybody,

My wife is having a combo baby shower and wedding shower at our house and one of the dishes that she wants me to cook is veggie burgers. I have researched egullet with little success for actual recipes. I did find this recipe in one post Veggie Burgers

I will prepare the patties 24 hours in advance, and she will grill them during the party. Does anybody have a killer recipe?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Alex

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The best thing you can do is marinate portabello mushroom caps for grilling. Beats the hell out of any TVP product on taste, texture, wholesomeness, and all those other good qualities. ESPECIALLY taste. :raz: And you can dress them up in all kinds of great ways without covering up the flavor (as you have to do with veggie burgers :angry: )

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The best thing you can do is marinate portabello mushroom caps for grilling.  Beats the hell out of any TVP product on taste, texture, wholesomeness, and all those other good qualities.  ESPECIALLY taste.  :raz: And you can dress them up in all kinds of great ways without covering up the flavor (as you have to do with veggie burgers  :angry: )

Roasted red peppers go well with portobello mushroom burgers. Grilled zucchini isn't bad, and goat cheese works.

Arthur Johnson, aka "fresco"
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Portabello mushrooms and roasted peppers are already in the menu. The main dishes will be a Gazpacho (roasted veggies in this one), a salad with grilled veggies, and veggie burgers with portabello mushrooms.

Good suggestions :smile: , but what about veggie burger recipes! :smile:

Gracias.

Alex

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There is no such thing as a good veggie burger. If your vegetarians are fish eating vegetarians then either make large fish cakes and serve them on hamburger rolls with some kind of sauce (I'd go with a spicy tarter sauce). If they don't eat fish then make some falafel.

Vegetarians’ eating fake meat pisses me off, it's fine if you don't want to eat meat, but don't replace meat in your diet with pre-formed shitburgers. There is plenty of good food in the world that is neither meat nor make-believe-meat.

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Why don't you give people the option of making their mushrooms, peppers, etc into burgers or not? Add some cheeses and fruits if you want more variety or a couple of unusual salads (couscos, rice etc).

But I agree that veggie burgers meant to fake meat are not that great.

Arthur Johnson, aka "fresco"
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TVP? Nut cutlets? I am lost... I guess these are some "vegetarian items"....

Hey! I am only cooking! I will not even be present when they eat the food :smile:

I just want to please my wife that wants to serve vegetarian burgers to her friends!

Melkor: I am from Spain, my family has been doing matanzas (killing pigs and curing meat) for centuries, give me a break!

Alex

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AlexP, please do not take what I and the others said as a personal attack. You are probably a great guy (as is anyone involved it curing the meat of pigs :wub: ). We just do not consider "veggie burgers" to be food for humans -- and definitely not for our friends the tasty animals. "Veggie burgers" are neither edible vegetable matter, nor burgers as we know and love them. There are some fine vegetarian foods -- yes, felafel is way up there as something truly wonderful when done right -- but "veggie burgers" are not among them.

The more you get acclimated to eGullet, the more you will learn that we do not pull punches. If we dislike something, GAH. But we ARE able to separate our dislike for, say, the application of mayonnaise, butter, and soy sauce to hot white rice, from the person creating such a combination (most of us can, anyway :raz: ).

Friends? :unsure: Please??

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Hm. How about just grilling some slabs of pressed tofu with a satay sauce?

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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AlexP, please do not take what I and the others said as a personal attack. You are probably a great guy (as is anyone involved it curing the meat of pigs  ). We just do not consider "veggie burgers" to be food for humans -- and definitely not for our friends the tasty animals. "Veggie burgers" are neither edible vegetable matter, nor burgers as we know and love them. There are some fine vegetarian foods -- yes, felafel is way up there as something truly wonderful when done right -- but "veggie burgers" are not among them.

The more you get acclimated to eGullet, the more you will learn that we do not pull punches. If we dislike something, GAH. But we ARE able to separate our dislike for, say, the application of mayonnaise, butter, and soy sauce to hot white rice, from the person creating such a combination (most of us can, anyway  ).

Friends?  Please??

Thanks for the comment. I did not take anything said in the posts as personal attacks. My opinion of vegetarian burgers is quite low. I believe I ate one once! But that is about it. I was just trying to incorporate them in a more interesting menu per my wife's request.

I have discovered eGullet a few weeks ago and I am truly enjoying it. Difficult to catch up with so much information. Vegetarian Burgers was probably a poor choice for my "starting topic" :smile:

I visit several fly fishing bulletin boards and this board is "PG 13" per comparison. People in this board are pretty civil stating their opinions.

Thanks and I am looking forward to other discussions.

Alex

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As a new vegetarian, I've got to agree - those veggie burgers are gross! I have absolutely no interest in eating fake meat at all - what's the point? I agree that either grilled portabellos or falafel :wub: would be much better. Or better yet, grill up a bunch of mixed veggies (like zucchini, green beans, carrots, onions, etc.) after tossing them with some veggie oil, s&p, and a little chile powder (preferably Chimayo), then serve them burrito or fajita style. To make it a completely balanced meal, provide black beans and sour cream on the side. Yum!

ps - not to get pissy, but someone who eats fish is not a vegetarian. That's a pescetarian. It's annoying as hell when people offer vegetarians fish. Fish is meat. Vegetarians do not eat meat. I don't understand why that's so difficult for people to understand.

Ok, I'm done ranting.

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kel, I understand entirely.

But the way that omnivores think, fish is not "meat". In fact, chicken, grouse, duck, goose and so on are not meat either; they are poultry. Meat is beef, lamb, pork, veal, bison etc. Fish is just fish.

So if someone says that they don't eat "meat"...

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Ok, so the store bought veggie burgers are gross. Are they gross because they're pre-made, or are they gross because the stuff they're made from is gross? I guess what I mean is, is it like the difference between store bought mac and cheese and home made mac and cheese? Could you make a good veggie burger at home not using TVP? There's got to be a way.

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Can't be done. Veggie Burger is an oxymoron. The vegetarians should just quit trying to make a burger out of veggies. Go do something else. There are a lot of delicious options.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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ps - not to get pissy, but someone who eats fish is not a vegetarian.  That's a pescetarian.  It's annoying as hell when people offer vegetarians fish.  Fish is meat.  Vegetarians do not eat meat.  I don't understand why that's so difficult for people to understand.

Oh, no, please piss away! :biggrin: I am on your side. And I'm an omnivore.

It should not be difficult to understand. It's just that there are so many people who call themselves vegetarians and then add, "But I do eat chicken/fish/caviar/veal/whatever." :shock: So of course it's confusing to those who do not apply such convoluted thinking to what we eat. And doubly or triply annoying to those who DO NOT eat flesh of any kind. Personally, I've always had trouble understanding how anyone but vegans could consider themselves truly "vegetarian" -- none of this ovo-lacto, ovo-pesca-lacto, etc. stuff.

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ps - not to get pissy, but someone who eats fish is not a vegetarian.  That's a pescetarian.  It's annoying as hell when people offer vegetarians fish.  Fish is meat.  Vegetarians do not eat meat.  I don't understand why that's so difficult for people to understand.

Oh, no, please piss away! :biggrin: I am on your side. And I'm an omnivore.

It should not be difficult to understand. It's just that there are so many people who call themselves vegetarians and then add, "But I do eat chicken/fish/caviar/veal/whatever." :shock: So of course it's confusing to those who do not apply such convoluted thinking to what we eat. And doubly or triply annoying to those who DO NOT eat flesh of any kind. Personally, I've always had trouble understanding how anyone but vegans could consider themselves truly "vegetarian" -- none of this ovo-lacto, ovo-pesca-lacto, etc. stuff.

Thank you! It's nice not to get yelled at for saying this. A lot of people get really defensive about this topic. I'm not a vegan, but mostly because I became a vegetarian simply because I just don't care for meat anymore. I'm not about to give up cheese too (I absolutely cannot imagine life without cheese enchiladas!).

The problem with veggie burgers is that they just don't taste good. I don't really know if it's because they don't season them well, or if it's that whole TVP thing, but there's just something wrong there. But maybe, for me anyway, it's because they call it a "burger" and it doesn't taste like any burger I've ever eaten. Maybe they should call it something else. I have heard that there are some burgers made out of beans, but haven't tried those yet. I think I'd rather just have a bean burrito instead. Mmmm, that sounds pretty good right about now... :biggrin:

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kel, I understand entirely.

But the way that omnivores think, fish is not "meat". In fact, chicken, grouse, duck, goose and so on are not meat either; they are poultry. Meat is beef, lamb, pork, veal, bison etc. Fish is just fish.

So if someone says that they don't eat "meat"...

That's very true. It reminds me, I heard that if you go to, for example, Japan, you have to clarify that you don't eat chicken, fish, etc, rather than just saying you don't eat "meat", because they will serve you up pork or something. Maybe they need those commercials calling pork "the other white meat." That might help clear things up.

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One can make fairly decent patties from a mixture of cooked beans and grains smooshed together. But they really does need egg for binding. And taste nothing like a burger at all.

There simply is no vegetarian analogue for a hamburger. Or bacon. Or ham. Or poultry. Or...

And there does not need to be.

It is possible to have a diverse, exciting, and delicious range of foods within the various shadings of "vegetarian" cuisines.

Better to explore the vegetarian dishes of world cuisine and go forward rather than look back to one's childhood and try to make a vegetarian bologna sandwich or hot dog or whatever.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Thank you Kel for pointing out that Vegetarians don’t eat fish, I especially dislike the term Pesco-Vegetarian and am glad more people are using pescetarian. So many people don’t understand that Vegetarians don’t eat fish, lobster, poultry, beef, buffalo, ostrich, caviar, etc. Any basic Nutrition 101 book will explain the four different types of Vegetarians: Vegan, Lacto-Ovo, Lacto, and Ovo (rare). I actually met a woman who claimed to be Vegetarian as she devoured a half pound beef burger because she had to get her protein from somewhere and another “Vegetarian” who said the chicken soup she was having was ok because she fished out the chicken chunks before eating and very often I’ve run into omnivores who mistakenly think fish is vegetarian.

Here in LA, most people who say they don’t eat meat mean that they don’t eat red meat.

Suzanne F’s marinated Portobello mushroom suggestion is a very good one because it’s almost impossible to fuck up. As for TVP burgers, I’ve never had a good one but if you want to eat it, more power to you. Garden burger is a whole 'nother story. Veggie burger is not an oxymoron. To make a good one at home, finely chop mushrooms, bellpeppers, onions, any of the dryer veggies, i.e. no tomatoes (will make the burgers soggy), sauté with garlic, salt, pepper, herbs of your choice, a bit of tomato paste then add crumbled very firm tofu (paper towel off the surface moisture before crumbling). Pat into patties and grill or bake. Delicious!

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See, now... when I saw "vegetarian burgers" I thought of "burgers made out of vegetarians" rather than "burgers made for vegetarians."

First I thought, "but... wouldn't that be kind of dry like turkey burgers?"

And then I thought, "hmm... maybe grain-fed vegetarians might have better marbling."

And then I thought, "wait! Aren't cows vegetarians?"

--

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See, now... when I saw "vegetarian burgers" I thought of "burgers made out of vegetarians" rather than "burgers made for vegetarians."

First I thought, "but... wouldn't that be kind of dry like turkey burgers?"

And then I thought, "hmm... maybe grain-fed vegetarians might have better marbling."

And then I thought, "wait!  Aren't cows vegetarians?"

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Good grief... you are right... cows are vegetarians!

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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