I wonder how many American-cuisine restaurants don’t have a hamburger on the menu. I love statistics, and that’s one I think would be fascinating to know. Beyond that, I wonder how many that do have burgers don’t have a veggie burger yet.
Veggie burgers are something many operators might believe is nice, but not necessary. But you almost can’t think that way anymore. According to one study, nearly one-fourth (actually 23%) of those aged 18-34 think that the availability of veggie burgers is important.
Certainly burger-centric chains should have veggie burgers, something Five Guys Burgers and Fries doesn’t have yet. Smash Burger just recently added a Black Bean Burger to its menu. Other burger chains long have had them, if you count frozen patties, thawed and fried, as a reasonable facsimile.
But I will be fair about veggie burgers. They aren’t an easy category to develop for restaurants that want to present a reasonable meatless burger to vegetarians and those not in the mood for meat. It involves quite a bit of R&D to come up with the right flavor and texture balance. Standard culinary books don’t include a section on how to make a veggie burger. So I talked to several chefs who have developed veggie burgers and asked them how they did it.
For the benefit of all, I found there are three main components/considerations with veggie burgers: main substance, veggies with flavorings and something to bind it all together. In a nutshell, here are the component solutions that chefs shared with me.
- Substance: The bulk of the burger could be rice, or more interestingly, risotto. How about quinoa and lentils. Consider black beans. One chef combines tofu and mushrooms.
- Vegetables and flavorings: Nearly any combination could work, but consider the sweetness of squash combined with bell peppers and onions or garlic for the sulfur. Finish with herbs. Another possibility is zucchini combined with carrots, beets and wheat berries. Go another direction and use ground pecans and cheddar cheese. Habanero chilies and roasted red pepper works for one chef. Whatever the vegetable, chefs agree, shred the vegetables rather than puree them.
- Binder: Hold it all together, perhaps with eggs. Rice also acts as a binder. Various kinds of powder work, like flour or chick pea powder. Consider grinding sundried tomatoes into a powder. You could rely on agar-agar, which chefs are familiar with.
For more detail about these ideas, read my article to the right, “Veggie Burgers Done Right.” It appeared in the Nov./Dec. 2011 issue of National Culinary Review magazine. Then let me know what you think.
Jody
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