Karen Barnaby: The art of constructing a great vegetable burger
Credit to Author: Tracey Tufnail| Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2020 19:00:08 +0000
I will confess that I’m not a big burger eater, of either the meat or vegetable persuasion. I sorely miss the ‘’80s when I could order a medium-rare beef burger. I can’t do that now, so I petulantly rarely bother. Vegetable burgers generally vary too widely in taste and texture, and I like reliability.
Making a beef burger is fairly easy — a vegetable based one, and especially a vegan one, not so much. Because I like challenges, I decided to go the vegan route. The burger I wanted to create was not one that imitated meat, I wanted it to be identifiable as a bean burger that was savoury, had texture and held together well.
To construct a vegetable burger — and I’m saying construct because they have to be built — you need ingredients that bind them together. Breadcrumbs, oats, sweet potatoes, legumes, and semolina are commonly used.
After a few trials, I chose wheat gluten as the binder. I know gluten is a polarizing ingredient, but it gave me binding power. It is used in the countless vegetarian meat analogs that are sitting in grocery coolers all over the country, and that’s where I got the idea. For centuries, it has been used as a non-meat protein in China and Japan, where it’s known as mian jin or seitan.
With the binder settled, I chose black beans and brown rice for colour and texture. Moisture is the enemy; too much moisture prevents the burger from holding together. I roasted the cooked black beans and the mushrooms to drive off the water. The mushrooms also provided a savoury flavour along with the granulated garlic, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. All of these ingredients are high in naturally occurring umami.
In putting it all together, I tried mixing all the ingredients and forming a log which was wrapped and steamed. Nope, too fussy and mushy. I tried baking which was marginally better. Then I realized that I could cook the wheat gluten, mushrooms and seasonings then fold in the rice and beans to preserve the texture.
In a toasted bun with lettuce, tomatoes and onions, it pretty much lived up to what I wanted a bean burger to be; savoury, tender and texturally satisfying.
If you Google “vegan burger recipe” you get 439,000,000 results. Here’s to burger number 439,000,001.
Picture: Karen Barnaby.
2 x 14 oz (398 mL) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb (500 g) medium sized mushrooms
1/2 lb (250 g) onions, approximately 1 large, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch (0.6 cm) half moons
4 Tbsp (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup (250 mL) cooked brown rice
5 Tbsp (75 mL) vital wheat gluten or wheat gluten – check the package to confirm that it has around 75% protein
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) salt
1 tsp (5 mL) smoked paprika
1 tsp (5 mL) sweet paprika
1 tsp (5 mL) granulated garlic
1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) ground black pepper
2 Tbsp (30 mL) nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp (15 mL) tomato paste
2 Tbsp (30 mL) tahini
2 Tbsp (30 mL) soy sauce
1 Tbsp (15 mL) vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (use regular if it’s not a concern for you)
2 Tbsp (30 mL) water
Heat the oven to 350 F (175 C). Spread the beans out in a single layer on a rimmed, parchment lined baking sheet. On a separate rimmed baking sheet, toss the mushrooms and onions with the oil and spread out evenly. Place the both in the oven and roast until most of the beans split open and skins starting to crisp, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Give the mushrooms a stir and return to the oven until they are brown and shrivelled, about 35-40 minutes total time. Some of the onions will look black, and that’s fine. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 300 F (150 C).
Place the wheat gluten, paprikas, garlic, pepper, yeast, tomato paste, tahini, soy sauce, Worcestershire and water into a food processor. Pulse until the mixture comes together evenly. Add the mushroom mixture and pulse until chopped a bit smaller than a pea. (You can also chop them by hand if a food processor is unavailable, and mix the wheat gluten mixture by hand. Then, combine the two mixtures.)
Liberally oil an 8 x 8-inch (20 x 20 cm) baking pan or line with parchment paper. Press the bean mixture evenly into the pan and smooth the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and let sit until cool enough to handle.
Combine the gluten mixture, rice and beans. Mix well with your hands until thoroughly blended. Pick up a patty-sized portion and form it into a patty. A tiny bit of cracking around the edge is fine but if there are a lot of cracks in the patty and the mixture seems dry, add 1 Tbsp (15 mL) of water to the mixture and test again. If more moisture is needed, add water in 1 tsp (5 mL) increments.
Form into 8 small or 6 larger patties, 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) is a good thickness but they will heat through faster if 1/4-inch (0.6 cm) thick. You can use a ring mould or round cookie cutter for shaping.
Heat a liberal amount of your oil of choice in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the patties without overcrowding and turn the heat to medium-low. Low heat is important as the burgers brown quickly. Carefully flip and brown the other side. Keep warm in a low oven and cook the remaining patties.
Serve on buns with the condiments and toppings of your choice. The patties can be frozen for up to three months. Cook them from frozen.
Makes 6 or 8 servings.
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