Homemade Veggie Burgers?

Jeff · February 12, 2008, 11:50:05 AM

NO! Veggie Patties?- YES! ;D

They never sounded good to me, "Veggie Burgers". I don't want an imposter posing as my hamburger. When I was grocery shopping this last weekend I saw a package of Veggie Burgers and picked it up to look at it. They did look good, so I looked at the ingredients. The sodium content made me put it back down, but I did get an idea that I might be able to concoct something of my own, which I did yesterday. They actually came out very very good! Definitely Tasty.

Tammy ate hers on a bun, where I just ate mine on a plate with some good old Ketchup for a condiment. We had brazed Asparagus as a side.

Here's my recipe. If it was just me, I'd use more pepper, maybe even some hot sauce, but I kept the "heat" down for Tammy's sake.

VEGGIE ~~BURGERS~~ PATTIES (Makes 10 large burgers.)
2- 16 oz cans light red kidney beans
1-large sweet onion
3-medium raw carrots
2-cups short grain brown rice cooked
2-cups Quaker quik oats
1-egg
1 tbsp- Parsley flakes
½ tbsp- garlic powder
1 tsp- pepper
1 tsp- salt

Using a Food Processor I chopped up the Beans and the onions and quick oats together, then put that in a large mixing bown. I then processed the carrots to a fine chop and added those to the mixing bowl. I added my cooked rice, egg and seasoning then mixed together very well with CLEAN ;D hands. I then chilled the mixture for an hour. I dont think that was nessesary, but I did it because I wanted to wait until lat
er for supper.

After chilling I removed the mixture and rolled it into 10 large balls. My pan was large enough to fry 4 at once in about 3 tbsp of Olive oil. Heat the oil until its HOT before beginning to fry. Place the balls of mixture in the pan and press out to form your patties. They should start frying as soon as they hit the pan. Don't mess with them until they get good and brown, then flip and brown the other side. I added a little more oil between each batch.

Hope you get a chance to try this, I was presently surprised and pleased that for a first time experiment, that it turned out so well. It was a "Meatless" meal where I never felt deprived at all.

RynSmith · February 12, 2008, 12:22:51 PM

Those sound really good, Jeff - I'm going to have to give that a try. Do you think that if I halved the ingredients that a whole egg would make it too moist? Guess I could always freeze the extras, though...

SwampDonkey · February 12, 2008, 12:27:47 PM

Jeff, you like to experiment to I see. What better way to do it, then with the family. ;D :D I'll have to give it a whirl some day, they even look like burgers. ;)

I'd probably add some cumin in the mix. And along with the ketchup at the table, a good dab of mustard.

Oh, I would sub the oatmeal and rice with taters. ;D

ely · February 12, 2008, 12:28:32 PM

yeah jeff i will try that myself..............as soon as the pigs and deer stop coming by my tree stand. ;D

Tom · February 12, 2008, 12:59:10 PM

One of those great big mushrooms you ate the other day makes a pretty good sandwich too, It's meaty tasting and benefits by some worchestershire and other flavorings.

Did you know that Egg Plant was touted as a meat substitute in WWII. You can fry it and get a quite a meat satisfaction from it without a lot of extra effort. It's texture might be lacking a little bit, but it tastes good.

Jeff · February 12, 2008, 01:51:07 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on February 12, 2008, 12:27:47 PM

Oh, I would sub the oatmeal and rice with taters. ;D

I think that would be a mistake. The rice and oats give it the fiber to hold together like burger. Taters would make it more like a potato pancake, and very fragile. Next time I may throw in a stick of celery to give it even more fibery strings.

Quote from: RynSmith on February 12, 2008, 12:22:51 PM
Those sound really good, Jeff - I'm going to have to give that a try. Do you think that if I halved the ingredients that a whole egg would make it too moist? Guess I could always freeze the extras, though...

I used an extra large egg, so a medium egg would be fine I bet in a half batch. I think with a full batch you could very easily make patties and freeze them between layers of wax paper, and just cook them as you wanted them.

stonebroke · February 12, 2008, 07:07:01 PM

Jeff

How did they taste?

Stonebroke

Jeff · February 12, 2008, 07:45:26 PM

QuoteThey actually came out very very good! Definitely Tasty.

Or did you mean what did they taste like? Not like what you would think. I recommend ya try em. Somebody needs to validate my recipe. :D

Corley5 · February 12, 2008, 07:58:59 PM

Hmmmmmm......

Mooseherder · February 12, 2008, 08:11:53 PM

They look real good. ;)
Definately looks like Meat in there. :D
I saved the recipe for later.

Burlkraft · February 12, 2008, 09:51:19 PM

Them look good enuff ta eat..........

This stuff ain't that bad now is it ??? ??? ???

A side of grilled edamame with that and yer all set....... :D :D :D

stonebroke · February 13, 2008, 08:15:15 AM

Yeah what do they taste like?

Stonebroke

SwampDonkey · February 13, 2008, 08:24:43 AM

Somehow oatmeal and rice don't sound too enticing mixed together. :D

Jeff · February 13, 2008, 01:40:39 PM

You don't taste them, Its part of the formula...

Norm · February 13, 2008, 03:45:48 PM

I sure admire your sense of adventure Jeff.

I like to try different things in the kitchen too, some turn out darn good, some the chickens won't eat. :D

Jeff · February 13, 2008, 04:06:35 PM

Quote from: Norm on February 13, 2008, 03:45:48 PM
I sure admire your sense of adventure Jeff.

I like to try different things in the kitchen too, some turn out darn good, some the chickens won't eat. :D

Let me know how yours turns out Norm. Ya gotta try this one.

Norm · February 13, 2008, 04:13:36 PM

I'll do that Jeff, I don't have some of the ingredients but I'll put them on the grocery list. I do have to say that the pictures you showed look darn tasty. The asparagus is starting to show up at the grocery store, they had it for $1.99 a lb. The produce guy even remarked what a good price it was. One of my favorite fresh veggies.

Jeff · February 13, 2008, 04:16:25 PM

This asparagus wasn't the best, but thats what we paid for it here. Long as you only ate the top 2/3s it wasnt to bad. I shoulda chopped off a third and ground it up and tossed it in the mix... :D

Don_Papenburg · February 13, 2008, 10:11:20 PM

I never pick my aspargus if it gets that big . Anything over 6" is left to feed the plant for the year. I prefer the shoots less than 4" nice an tender.

SwampDonkey · February 14, 2008, 08:55:15 AM

Jeff, since you like exploring a bit, you'll have to try some fresh spring cattails this year. ;D

Tom · February 14, 2008, 12:02:17 PM

Maybe some cedar sawdust and beewax :D

blueox · February 14, 2008, 01:19:34 PM

OK Jeff...I made them! They were FANTASTIC!

I have to admit, I can never follow a recipe and I didn't have all the ingredients. (Plus I wanted to make a 1/2 batch. These are my revisions:

1Can Red Kidney Beans (drained)
1 lge onion
2 med carrots
2 minced Garlic cloves
1 tsp grated Fresh Ginger
1 C cooked Cous-Cous
2 C Oats
1 egg
garlic powder
S & P

I mixed it up according to your directions. Check this out!! Yum!

Tom · February 14, 2008, 01:26:57 PM

For those of you who are trying to substitute meat-looking vegetables for meat, why don't you use a juicer. I have gotten the benefit of vegetable juice, which I really like, and then the benefit of the pulp that is left over I've put into breads, soups and all kinds of stuff. It's so fine that it just disappears in a loaf of bread. You get the benefit of the roughage, the flavor and the texture without having to cook out all of the water.

Jeff, those tough Asparagus stalks make a good soup if you puree them in a blender.

Jeff · February 14, 2008, 01:28:44 PM

Hey! Thats cool! I'm the same way, I dont follow recipes to much. I may use a core idea but have to put a little Jeffy flair with it. :D Being flexible can lead to some unique taste experiences. Some of which might even be good! :D

andybuildz · February 14, 2008, 04:40:20 PM

Jeff...Haven't read through all these posts yet...but I will. Sure didn't expect to see anything to do with veggie burgers here. Most guys here I always suspected to be more of a meat eatin' animal huntin' crowd

As for me...I'm a vegetarian cept' for some fish...actually I've been a strict macrobiotic the past three years. My blood pressure was high for ...well...all my life plus I was anemic. After a few months I stopped my meds to see what effect it had on me and sure as shootin' my BP was totally normal and I wasn't anemic anymore.
No more B-12 shots every month or BP medication...yeee-ha! Coulda been a coincidence but I doubt it.
Veggie burgers always seemed kinda mushy to me but I'm gonna investigate all'y'all recipes for sure!!

digin_2

Thanks

SwampDonkey · February 14, 2008, 04:58:43 PM

Quote from: Tom on February 14, 2008, 12:02:17 PM
Maybe some cedar sawdust and beewax :D

Yeah but he's got cattails galore up there around the woodlot, so he'll have plenty of stock to experiment with. Just don't start using last years stock, unless ya want some grub protein mixed in with some fuzz. Might be interesting trying to talk for a while. ;D :D

Jeff · February 14, 2008, 05:09:57 PM

When Tom was up there he was real interested in the cat tails. That man can see food where others don't dare to tread. :D

Yea, I'll try em. My undestanding is the whole plant is edible, but different parts during different seasons.

SwampDonkey · February 14, 2008, 05:16:45 PM

If your fishing up there in spring, try some of the fiddle heads from the Ostrich Fern. They have brown papery scales, avoid any with hairs and fuzz on them, not the right ones. The heads are an inch or more in width as they break ground. Wash the scales off in a bucket of water. They are dark green as well.

Do a search on the net for the cattails to get the details. I never ate them, but have always heard they are a life saver if your lost and near a marsh.

Mooseherder · February 14, 2008, 05:27:28 PM

Quote from: SwampDonkey on February 14, 2008, 05:16:45 PM
If your fishing up there in spring, try some of the fiddle heads from the Ostrich Fern. They have brown papery scales, avoid any with hairs and fuzz on them, not the right ones. The heads are an inch or more in width as they break ground. Wash the scales off in a bucket of water. They are dark green as well.

These are the good ones (fiddleheads) except they were a few days too late. ;D

These are the ones you want to avoid eh? :D

SwampDonkey · February 14, 2008, 05:41:22 PM

Yeah they unfurl quick in the heat.

Furby · February 14, 2008, 05:45:20 PM

I'd offer to pick you folks a bunch of them from work next week, but I don't think it will go over real well with them. ;)

Patty · February 15, 2008, 02:55:32 PM

Those veggie burgers look real good. I know red meat is VERY high in calories, so if we can substitute another product that tastes good now and then, this is a good thing. Every time my sister wants to drop weight, she eliminates meat from her diet and lives on vegetables and fruit. It works for her. 8)

Burlkraft · February 15, 2008, 03:22:11 PM

Quote from: blueox on February 14, 2008, 01:19:34 PM
OK Jeff...I made them! They were FANTASTIC!

BlueOx...I'm not really sure that yer 'sposed ta eat veggies with veggie burgers :D :D :D

I been eatin veggie burgers since July. I like 'em ~~almost as much as~~ better than regular meat

Yers look delish fer sure ;D ;D ;D

blueox · February 15, 2008, 04:06:37 PM

Burlkraft...That was just for the picture! I threw those vegies in the garbage and heaped my plate w/ mashed potatoes, butter & slathered on some gravey and topped it off with some chocolate! :D :D :D

Just kidding....I would have prefered the mashed taters & chocolate, but I tried to be good and I ate those vegies. Plus the vegie burger doesn't taste or resemble vegies at all...very filling and almost "meaty"!