My dilemma: my struggle to find the perfect vegetarian burger recipe.
My boyfriend and I are not vegetarians - but we love meatless burgers (of all kinds). Years ago I had a fantastic veggie burger at Houston's in New Jersey. It was dark (almost black), crunchy and had really amazing flavor.
I have yet to find anything that comes close - I can't even imagine what the ingredient were, black beans, barley, rice? After (yet another) failed attempt last night, with a recipe found in a Martha Stewart magazine (rice, chickpeas, beets - MUSH!), I decided to drop AT Kitchen a line.
I would love to see recipes recommended by the readers and editors. Thanks! - Kari Anne
Kari Anne, yes! We have some suggestions. First off, we looked for copycat recipes for the Houston's burger. If it's as great as you say, surely someone has tried to recreate it. Sure enough, we found copycat recipes at Yahoo! Answers and Recipezaar. Check these out first and see if they work for you.
We also have some recipes bookmarked at Epicurious to check out - namely, this one for Portobello-Black Bean Burgers with Corn Salsa and these Mushroom Kasha Burgers with Chipotle Mayonnaise (pictured above).
And then of course there is Mark Bittman's article from February about the varieties of vegetarian burgers; we suggest experimenting with his basic recipes to find the sort of veggie burgers you like best. His article is here: Burgers With Lots of Sizzle and None of the Guilt.
We have our own recipe here too: Tomato, Corn, and Basil Bean Burgers, which admittedly is more of a bean patty than a meatlike veggie burger.
And finally, remember that great veggie burgers lean heavily on technique. A great recipe can only go so far; you need to replicate the deep, dark complexity of flavors in meat through strategic cooking. In many recipes this is achieved through caramelized onions and many small flavor notes - which is why veggie burger recipes are often so long and complicated. You also have to make sure you deeply brown and caramelize the mix to get that strong and smoky flavor that is characteristic of a great burger - meat or veggie.
Any more suggestions for Kari Anne?
Related Links
• The Cheesemonger: Munster
• Vino: Good Wines for Grilling
• Recipe: Mini Lamb Burgers on Roasted Potato Rounds
• Recipe: Tomato, Corn, and Basil Bean Burgers
• Hot or Not: Flashlight Grill Tongs
(Image credit: Romulo Yanes for Gourmet)
A few tips (I've yet to devise The Ultimate Recipe):
>try a tinch of Liquid Smoke
>if you like a spicy burger, canned chipotles in adobo sauce are a good smoky choice
>short grain brown rice is the best grain I've used for texture and stickiness (holding it all together)
>extra sharp Cheddar cheese, grated, ups the flavor and also helps stick everything together
>crack an egg in there (like a meatloaf recipe)
>if you want a burger-burger, stick with beans, rice, seasonings, and (unless vegan) egg and/or cheese and leave the veggie-veggies for the side
Beets. What a terrible idea. I love beets but a beet burger? Sounds like a mess, too.
A last tip--mustard is so much better on v burgers than ketchup. Why is this? I don't know. But tomato paste in the burger itself is good.
view cmcinnyc's profile
HOUSTON'S RESTAURANT COPY CAT VEGGIE BURGERS
Source: AnnaCG
Makes 4 burgers
This is a recipe I am slowly trying to clone. So far, this is the closest I've come. I'm not so sure Houston's uses an egg white, but I added one to help bind the mixture together. Also, the cheese is optional. Houston's definitely grills their buns in butter, so that's probably another reason why their burgers are so good.
4 tablespoons hickory barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon molasses
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon oat bran
2 tablespoons onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned beets
1 teaspoon beet juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 egg white
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 slices monterey jack cheese (optional)
Stir together barbecue sauce and molasses. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mash beans. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the barbecue mixture (reserving remaining for brushing) and remaining ingredients -- rice through egg white. Form into four 6 oz patties.
Heat olive oil in a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium. Grill burgers for 2 minutes on one side. Turn and brush with remaining barbecue/molasses mixture. Top with Monterey Jack and grill for another 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and mustard on a bun which has been grilled in butter.
Notes:
I have tried a similar recipe and asked Houston's. They do use small black beans, beet juice only-no chopped beets (though that is a nice addition),sweet soy sauce, oat bran, and mushrooms.If you look at Bandera's recipe they use sweet potatoes too. I tried it and its good.I don't think they use egg white-according to Peta's website this burger is vegan. I'm experimenting again tonight. I'll let you know how it comes out.
This may be IT. I've been trying to "reverse engineer" this burer for some time. Two amall differences however, our local Houstons in SOCAL uses small black beans instead of pintos and a small amount of something red like maybe shredded cooked beets to give the burger a rare meat look. The proportions and measurements are kinda weird, and I agree that it needs experimentation.
Houston's do use chopped beets. I used to make the veggie burgers when I worked prep there. Brown rice, oat cereal, chopped black beans, salt, pepper, fresh garlic, jalapenos, white onion. The glaze is honey, soy, hoisin, and molasses. it gets dipped before grilling and held in the marinade before cooking.
view priscilla's profile
How about Black Bean Chipotle Burgers?
view Jim of ChewOnThat's profile
Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has some great-looking veggie burger recipes with a rather unique take (she uses her patties as the bun). I haven't tried these, but they look delish – http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001567.html, http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegetarian-lentil-burgers-recipe.html.
view MayaB's profile
I am thrilled that my question was posted, I've become frustrated with my many veggie burger failures!
Thank you for your responses, this is a lot of super information.
view kari-anne's profile
Oh, I can vouch for that epicurious portobello-black bean burgers recipe - it's gooood. Don't skip the avocado.
view SisterRae's profile
Priscilla- THANK YOU!! the houstons burger is the best veggie burger i've ever had. I can't wait to try them out myself :)
view pdxcarrie's profile
This isn't in the same vein as the veggie burger above, but India has the most amazing veggie burgers I've ever had (incidentally, they have the only amazing veggie burgers I've ever had). Even the McDonalds in India have awesome ones, wonderfully named the "McAloo Tiki Burger." Generally, they're potato curry fried into patty form. I just tried the Trader Joe's version, and they're a pretty good approximation.
view malea's profile
I used to work at Houston's as a server. I don't know all of the ingredients of the veggie burger, but I do know that it includes one thing that hasn't yet been mentioned: chopped prunes. Sounds weird, right? It gives the burger it's sweetness.
view jeanine's profile