I've been searching for a veggie burger that I can get excited about. Don't get me wrong, I have no delusions that I'll find a veggie burger that tastes like a real burger or that will satisfy a burger craving. What I want is a meatless patty with vegetables that tastes better than eating raw vegetables. I'm surprised I haven't had more luck. Let me go over a few of the false starts and failures that have brought me to this point.
About 9 years ago, my sister and brother-in-law grilled up some Dr. Praeger's frozen veggie burgers. If that wasn't my first veggie burger, it's at least the first one I remember. I liked it, I did! The vegetable pieces were visually and texturally interesting, and the burning charcoal overwhelmed my senses with happiness. My take-home was that these frozen mashed veggie pucks were delicious, so I bought some. When my first one came out of the microwave as pig slop, I tried cooking one in a frying pan. When that one dissolved and burned, I found someone with a grill and watched as my two remaining patties crumbled and fell to the smoldering depths below. My perfect veggie burger needs to be consistently good on its own, so I had to move on.
I visited Chestnut 7 last year. I recall some emphasis on their veggie burger being made in-house, so I went for it. It tasted good, no doubt. It was very filling and savory enough. I noticed on the fourth bite, however, that something was missing. In fact, this veggie burger had no veggies. It was comprised of rice, beans, and seasoning, but no vegetables. This made it dense and dry, not to mention disappointing. My perfect veggie burger has to have vegetables. Next.
I had a House-Made Veggie Burger from Ted's Montana Grill. It was a decent mix of beans, oats, and some vegetables, but I'm noticing a trend of dense, dry, crumbly patties with a shallow flavor profile. This is not to say that Ted's is a bad attempt, but I think I still need more veggies in my veggie burger. It started becoming apparent to me that I wouldn't have much luck by just trying others' attempts; I'd have to make my own if I wanted my perfect veggie burger.
I tried some variation of this recipe after having some pretty immense cravings for a black bean burger. I like the process of mashing beans to get a binding base. I know that with black beans I'll get a nice, deep flavor to build on. But I also don't want to clean my food processor for a half a pepper and a half an onion. I went for diced veggies, so it would at least have some texture. Maybe that's why it fell apart, but I suspect there are other reasons. This was good for a black bean burger, but there's a reason they don't call it a veggie burger.
Yeah yeah yeah, I just said I didn't want to clean a food processor, so why am I so willing to clean a meat grinder? I don't know, don't ask me to explain my cleaning preferences! So, we've got a meat grinder. I'm worried about vegetable skins clogging the thing, so they're gonna have to go. Roasting seems the obvious method with the bonus of imparting deeper flavor. Now I just need to figure out the mix.
When I'm let loose in a kitchen, like in a buffet, I tend to find all the things I like and throw a little bit into my meal. While this method of chaos does have the benefit of producing Fitz-specific dishes that would otherwise not exist, it does little to form practical, balanced recipes. I'm actively trying to correct for that by really thinking hard about whether something is necessary. For example, I love oats. I've seen oats in veggie burgers, so I want oats! But, what are these oats bringing to the party? They don't bind, they don't brighten, they don't deepen, they don't moisten, they're not a vegetable, and they're not similar in any way to beef. I want to eat oats, so I'll move them into the roll, but there will be no oats in this patty. The rice I see in many recipes falls into the same category of non-vegetable patty filler, so it's gone! I'll keep the beans (black, garbanzo, or otherwise) for their protein, deep flavor, and ability to bind. I saw beets and beet juice in this recipe (as basically the only vegetable), which I like for its iron, earthiness, and juiciness (yes, juice is juicy). So what else? Red bell peppers are appealing to me, but I can't make a great case for them yet. Corn is always good for some sweetness, but I'm unsure about its performance in the meat grinder. I'm also considering leafy greens like kale, escarole, arugula, and collard greens. I need to think this through a little more.
