A Formula For Making The Best Vegetarian Burgers
from https://thecookful.com/

FMM: When I worked at Doc Watson’s, they served a veggie burger that was delicious. They came frozen in a cardboard case. I did not pay attention to the brand, but I did look at the ingredient list once and all I can remember was that they contained mushroom.

After looking at companies who made veggie burgers in the late 1990s and the ingredients used, I now believe this veggie burger came from the Gardenburger brand. None of the others used mushrooms as one of the main ingredients. And I think the veggie burgers were actually called "Gardenburger" on the menu then. Plus, I later found the Origianl Gardenburgers sold in cases just like the one I saw at Doc Watson's.

• Gardenburger. Original Veggie Burgers typically contain cooked brown rice, mushrooms, rolled oats, and mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Other ingredients can include onions, water, hydrated wheat bulgur, spices, and natural flavors. Some versions also include soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, and wheat gluten.

Also see Copycat Recipe for Gardenburgers.

The Best Veggie Burger

Standard Ingredients + 2 Cups Chopped Veggies + 1 Cup Cooked Grains + 1 and 1/2 Cups Cooked Legumes + 1/2 Cup Flavor-Texture Booster + 3 Tsp. Spices + 1/2 Cup Dry Base

Choose your ingredients from the lists below based on what you have and then follow the instructions to build your best veggie burger.

See below for Tips for making Veggie Burgers.

STANDARD INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon salt
oil for cooking (e.g. olive oil, coconut oil, peanut oil)

Heat 2 talespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and salt and cook until the onion is translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add vegetables and cook until soft, 5-10 minutes.

Transfer the cooked vegetables to a food processor*. Add all remaining ingredients except the reserved bean liquid and frying oil. Pulse 5-10 times to combine. Don’t overdo it; you don’t want a paste!

*Using a food prcessor seems to be a problem with many recipesYou can also do this in a large bowl with a potato masher. Just make sure your veggies are cooked so they are soft enough to mash! Use a potato masher or large mixing spoon to mix and mash the ingredients together.

Press the mixture between your fingers. If you can form a patty with it, you’re good to go. If it’s too crumbly, add the reserved bean liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it sticks together. If the mixture is too wet, add more of the dry base ingredient, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the right consistency. Taste the mixture and add salt to your taste.

Form the mixture into 8 patties (about 1/3 cup of the mixture each) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate the patties uncovered for 30 minutes. (Don’t skip this step! Resting will help the patties stay together.)

When ready to cook, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook 3-4 patties at a time until brown on one side, then flip and brown the other side. It should take about 3-4 minutes per side. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan before cooking each batch of burgers.

Serve immediately or cool and then wrap each burger in foil, place them in a freezer bag, and freeze for later. Reheat in a dry pan on the stove, in the oven or in the microwave.

7 Tricks To Making Veggie Burgers That Don’t Suck

Most veggie burgers are either flavorless, pasty, or worst of all, they fall apart into one big pile of mush. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Make veggie burgers at home, with the tips we have for you below, and you’ll see just how great these nutrient-dense patties can be. Bonus, they’re way healthier than hamburgers are too.

1. Cook the veggies first. Yes, we know you’re going to cook the patty on the grill, pan or oven, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to cook the vegetables before adding them to your burger. Most vegetables contain a lot of water (which is released during coking) and too much water can signal the death of a great veggie burger.

2. Don’t forget to use a good binder. This is what’s going to hold it all together. It doesn’t have to be an egg (though those work great). Ground flax seeds, oats or even beans can do the trick. Potato, regular or sweet, makes a great substitute for egg as a burger binder. Just bake the potato, scoop out the insides.

Bread crumbs or oatmeal. Adequate bread crumbs or oatmeal are required to soak in the moisture from the potato, beans, veggies, and whatever else goes into your veggie burger. Skimp on the bread crumbs and you’ll be met with mush. To minimize the use of bread crumbs, avoid using super moist beans and veggies in your burger assembly. Then add enough breadcrumbs until the mix is firm enough to form patties.

3. Let it rest. Some recipes call for letting the veggie mixture rest in the fridge before shaping into patties, and some ask you to shape the patties. Never skip this step. It’s written for a reason. Letting the burgers rest gives the dry ingredients time to absorb some of the moisture in the burger, making them more apt to stay together during cooking, thus creating a more homogenized burger that’ll stick together.

4. Use flavor-boosting vegetables and add-ins. Sure, making a veggie burger that doesn’t fall apart is super important, but it’s also crucial that the patty taste good. Don’t forget to use aromatic veggies like onions and garlic, as well as glutamate-rich ingredients like mushrooms. And salt. Never forget the salt.

5. Cook the grains first.This is a rookie mistake, and don’t let it happen to you. There’s no way grains are going to cook on their own when grilling up a burger. But, do be sure to add grains. They help balance out the burger.

6. Don’t make a mixture that’s too wet. Or too dry. You want the texture to be moist to the touch, but not to stick to your hands when forming the patties.

7. Use a combination of ingredients. To get a perfect veggie burger you need a mixture of dry, wet, sticky and flavorful ingredients. Dry ingredients include flour, oatmeal and nuts. Wet ingredients include veggies and legumes. And sticky ingredients include legumes and flours and oatmeal that get sticky when wet. A good ratio of these three types of ingredients is what will keep your burger together and tasty.