# BINDING VEGETARIAN BURGER



## frankie007 (Jan 17, 2015)

Hello all,

I am having trouble binding my veggie burger, I am set on chickpeas with North African flavour(cumin, coriander...). Flavour is not the problem but consistency of it is.It ends up a bit mushy I tried a few versions of it but no joy...I was wandering has anyone had any success with theirs? I am using some fresh breadcrumbs but they soak up moisture after some time and it ends up being wet. Obviously it is the animal fat that is missing to make it that regular burger consistency. Any tricks or substitutes?


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

Regular vegetarians types eat eggs and cheese. Along with some high-quality bread crumbs this should bind up your burgers easy enough.


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Have you tried grinding up your chickpeas in 2 batches.  On batch grind fine to help the burger stay together.  Keep 1/3 of your chickpeas back and then grind them coarsely to provide some texture.  You can also add some roughly ground nuts for some texture.  Try cashews, almonds or walnuts.

What else are you putting in your veggie burgers?


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## frankie007 (Jan 17, 2015)

Thanks boys,

I experimented all day today and arrived at acceptable recipe. It turned out to be more of the fritter. I have chickpeas roughly mashed, creme fraiche, eggs, chickpea flour and onion cooked with cumin, chilli, coriander, garlic, smoked paprika plus a pinch of baking powder.. I cook it in a oiled ring, flip it and either finish it in the oven or on a gentle heat in the pan. It holds it's shape well and looks like a burger when it is ready, it is not too fragile but it still needs work. i like the nuts idea but with all the allergies I am trying to keep it nut free. On the down side I am positively sick of chickpeas, roll on a fat beef burger!


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## braising cows (Aug 12, 2012)

Oats


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## karenandandrew (Jan 25, 2015)

When you mentioned chickpeas, it reminded us of the veggie burger recipe we'd seen demonstrated by Five Napkin Burger chef Andy D'Amico (ex-Sign of the Dove) on the New York TV show "Good Day Cafe" in 2013

 
Andy D'Amico, executive chef of 5 Napkin Burger, prepared a veggie burger in the Good Day Cafe.
 

RECIPE:
 

1 lb. Cremini Mushrooms, sliced ¼" thick

1 Tbs. olive oil

½ lb. zucchini, grated & squeezed dry

¼ lb. peeled carrots, grated

¼ lb. peeled beets, grated

½ cup cooked wheat berries

½ cup cooked lentils

1 cup cooked brown rice

6 Tbs. sunflower seeds

4 Tbs. chopped parsley

1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained well

2 Tbs. ketchup

1 Tbs. dry mustard

1 Tsp. smoked paprika

1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk, whipped to combine

¾ cup panko bread crumbs

2 tsp. salt + 1 tsp. ground black pepper
 

1.      Toss mushrooms with oil, season with salt & pepper, spread out in one layer on a cookie sheet.  Place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven & roast until nicely browned, cooked through and slightly dried out. About 10 - 12 minutes

2.      Combine the zucchini, carrots, beets, wheat berries, brown rice, lentils, sunflower seeds & parsley in a stainless bowl mix well.

3.      Combine mushrooms, chickpeas, mustard, ketchup & paprika in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to a medium-coarse puree. 

4.      Slowly add eggs to the chickpea mixture with the motor running until combined.

5.      Fold chickpea mixture into the vegetables; add panko crumbs to bind, season with salt & pepper.

6.      Form into 5 oz. patties, refrigerate.

Yields 8 – 5 oz. burgers


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I use egg whites


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## jim berman (Oct 28, 1999)

I have used oatmeal (as noted above) and a combination of black beans (with cooking liquid) and brown rice.


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

I've also heard of coarsely grinding barley and using that to help bind it.


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## chefdonlan (Aug 6, 2014)

I have used this stuff called TVP (textured Vegetable protein) it helps bind thigs

In my vegetarian burger recipe i have done sushi rice, cooked red lentils, mushrooms, mung beans, and this produces a very firm patty once you let it sit for about an hour after everything has cooled.

these were vegan friendly as well as gluten free so it kind of hit all the food trends that were big with the eaters of my restaurant.


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## frankie007 (Jan 17, 2015)

Do you remember the ratio you were using?


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

A question for those that have suggested the use of egg in a vegetarian burger?  I know that egg is a great binder, and technically eggs are vegetarian, but, if you are going to all the trouble of making veggie burgers in a restaurant setting why use egg?  Wouldn't it make more sense to keep it completely vegan, killing 2 birds with 1 stone?


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

Good enough question Pete. I'm very much more biased to vegetarian cooking vs. vegan based on ease. I do vegan cooking and respect it all well and good, but if I don't have to break my chops work-wise, I'll go with the eggs and such. It's so much easier to put out a tasty plate. I don't see any problem myself with free-range and humane dairy farming. That's just my viewpoint however ... YMMV.


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## frankie007 (Jan 17, 2015)

Same here, I feel the same but I know first time somebody vegan turns up I will be back to square one....I will be working on the vegan burger as well as it would be better to cover 2 basis with one dish. Just want to say big *THANK YOU* to all that replied I appreciate it.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

As far as I know eggs or forms of do not compromise vegetarian cooking.


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## linecook854 (Feb 13, 2013)

frankie007 said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I am having trouble binding my veggie burger, I am set on chickpeas with North African flavour(cumin, coriander...). Flavour is not the problem but consistency of it is.It ends up a bit mushy I tried a few versions of it but no joy...I was wandering has anyone had any success with theirs? I am using some fresh breadcrumbs but they soak up moisture after some time and it ends up being wet. Obviously it is the animal fat that is missing to make it that regular burger consistency. Any tricks or substitutes?


Activa will solve all your problems in a snap.


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## frankie007 (Jan 17, 2015)

Can you expand on your post please linecook854. What is activa? The fritter that i am quite happy with at the moment has a nice eggy, cakey consistency. What is your experience with activa, what kind of things have you used it for?


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## linecook854 (Feb 13, 2013)

frankie007 said:


> Can you expand on your post please linecook854. What is activa? The fritter that i am quite happy with at the moment has a nice eggy, cakey consistency. What is your experience with activa, what kind of things have you used it for?


A simple google search will your questions on Activa.

In a nutshell Activa RM is a brand of Transglutaminase that is very popular amongst those in the modernist cuisine sphere. Transglutaminase AKA "meat glue" will bind high protein foods together (and even those not so high in protein since Activa contains milk proteins) to create your desired effect. It was originally developed in Japan to make immitation crab meat out of pollock. I've seen it bind a bunch of chain scrap meat from filets into a log shape and they were sliced to make mini filet sliders. It can be used on farces to make a casing-less sausage and it will hold together. Using it for bean based veggies burgers is a common application.


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## westbigballin (Jun 3, 2014)

Vital Wheat Gluten

Our previous veggie burger was black bean based and had some rice it. Turned out to be a solid patty and I enjoyed eating it because of the beans invoking a Tex-Mex idea (though it wasn't the intended idae).

Current veggie burger is red beets and red quinoa... thing is straight mush and we can't figure out why or how to fix it. Cook it right (happens one out of every 10 orders probably) and it'll get a nice solid (but not burnt) crust that holds up decently. Rest of the time it's like a sloppy joe.

Surprisingly, no complaints as far as I've heard.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I have also used Pnut Butter, and a bit of cracker meal.


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