I've been reading a lot of recent news articles, taste tests and comparisons for these alternatives to meat burgers and other products - Beyond Meat and The Impossible Burger. I wanted to give them a try just to see what all the fuss and hoopla was about and see for myself if they really could be an alternative to a beef burger. So here goes.
I was able to find Beyond Meat burgers at one of my local markets here in New England a few days ago (Hannaford). They're in the frozen case, price wasn't bad at $5.50 for a package of two. Of course, lobster got a front row seat over the weekend vs. plant-based burgers :mrgreen: so today was the day to give these a go. I fired up the Weber kettle and got to work.
The package for those interested -
Sorry it's sideways, the phone camera does that sometimes. Note these are NOT the new and improved version in which the packaging would have a red box in the upper right corner stating so. If I can find those in the next few weeks I'll give them a try.
The burgers after thawing. They do pretty much look like a regular burger -
I seasoned them as I would a beef burger, with a splash of Worcestershire and some Montreal Steak and onto the Weber they went. After about 5 minutes and the first flip on the indirect side of the grill -
Instructions state they're done at 165. After 15-20 minutes in total on the indirect side, they had dripped a bit of "fat" into my drip pan -
And then onto the hot side of the Weber for a direct sear, about a minute per side -
They look pretty darn close to the real thing.
Some plated shots -
Showing the texture -
OK. So how do they taste? Quite good, I'd say. Very close to tasting like a beef burger. They were moist, juicy, texture was good and there wasn't a single thing neither the Mrs nor I disliked about them. We were both very impressed!
I'd most certainly make and serve them again. I have another package from Hannaford and picked up two more packages on sale at $3.99 at Market Basket this afternoon prior to making these.
I'm not going to get into the sustainability and plant vs. cattle discussion since that's all over the internet in various articles. My intent here is to let the Brethren know that you shouldn't be wary of giving these a try. Obviously, this taste test is my opinion but I wanted to let folks know what I thought of Beyond Meat burgers.
These would be a great alternative for vegetarian friends as opposed to serving those soy-based veggie hockey pucks that have been available for a long time. Personally, I'd prefer these over the black bean veggie burgers I've posted in the past. And no, I'm not becoming a vegetarian. :becky:
I've not seen the Impossible Burger for sale in any of the local markets. Some restaurants do carry them. In fact, the local Worcester newspaper ran an article today on how O'Connor's (my favorite Irish restaurant/pub) is serving the Beyond Meat burger on its menu.
That's my take on these. Give them a try - or not. :grin:
Regards,
-lunchman
I was able to find Beyond Meat burgers at one of my local markets here in New England a few days ago (Hannaford). They're in the frozen case, price wasn't bad at $5.50 for a package of two. Of course, lobster got a front row seat over the weekend vs. plant-based burgers :mrgreen: so today was the day to give these a go. I fired up the Weber kettle and got to work.
The package for those interested -
Sorry it's sideways, the phone camera does that sometimes. Note these are NOT the new and improved version in which the packaging would have a red box in the upper right corner stating so. If I can find those in the next few weeks I'll give them a try.
The burgers after thawing. They do pretty much look like a regular burger -
I seasoned them as I would a beef burger, with a splash of Worcestershire and some Montreal Steak and onto the Weber they went. After about 5 minutes and the first flip on the indirect side of the grill -
Instructions state they're done at 165. After 15-20 minutes in total on the indirect side, they had dripped a bit of "fat" into my drip pan -
And then onto the hot side of the Weber for a direct sear, about a minute per side -
They look pretty darn close to the real thing.
Some plated shots -
Showing the texture -
OK. So how do they taste? Quite good, I'd say. Very close to tasting like a beef burger. They were moist, juicy, texture was good and there wasn't a single thing neither the Mrs nor I disliked about them. We were both very impressed!
I'd most certainly make and serve them again. I have another package from Hannaford and picked up two more packages on sale at $3.99 at Market Basket this afternoon prior to making these.
I'm not going to get into the sustainability and plant vs. cattle discussion since that's all over the internet in various articles. My intent here is to let the Brethren know that you shouldn't be wary of giving these a try. Obviously, this taste test is my opinion but I wanted to let folks know what I thought of Beyond Meat burgers.
These would be a great alternative for vegetarian friends as opposed to serving those soy-based veggie hockey pucks that have been available for a long time. Personally, I'd prefer these over the black bean veggie burgers I've posted in the past. And no, I'm not becoming a vegetarian. :becky:
I've not seen the Impossible Burger for sale in any of the local markets. Some restaurants do carry them. In fact, the local Worcester newspaper ran an article today on how O'Connor's (my favorite Irish restaurant/pub) is serving the Beyond Meat burger on its menu.
That's my take on these. Give them a try - or not. :grin:
Regards,
-lunchman
op2:
