Here’s a review of tips for making vegan burgers that we discussed during last night’s Vegan Burgers and Sides class.

Generally speaking, vegan burgers are best when “being themselves.”  That is, don’t try to make them taste like a beef burger.  (You can always pick up store bought vegan burgers for traditional hamburger style burgers. My personal favorite at the moment is Gardein’s Ultimate Beefless Burger.)

You can make infinite variations of burgers, combining a few or numerous ingredients. There’s no rule that you have to include a specific category of food. You can make a burger without any beans, or without vegetables, or grain, etc. Experiment with ingredients you have in your kitchen.  Here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

 Binders  – You’ll need a binder to hold the burgers together.  Some common options are: “flax eggs” (ground flaxseeds mixed with water, at about a 1:3 ratio), commercial egg replacer, oats, potatoes, wheat germ, and bread crumbs.

Texture / Moisture Content – A common problem with vegan burgers is mushiness and/or crumbling. To avoid this problem, make sure to remove extra water from your ingredients as you prepare. 

• Drain your beans and blot them with a towel. The same goes for cooked vegetables and grains. 
• Mushrooms are wonderful to include for adding meatiness. Just be sure to cook with some salt to draw out the moisture. 
• If you still find your patties are too moist, just add some additional binder, and/or bake them in the oven rather than pan frying or grilling.

Flavor – There are so many ways to flavor using different herbs, spices, condiments, and of course choice of ingredients.  A few things you may consider.

• Use some aromatic vegetables as a base. Sauté onion and garlic in a little oil, and season with salt and pepper. The salt draws out the liquid and sugar, helping to caramelize the onion.  As a general practice, add the onion before the garlic, as garlic cooks quickly and could burn.
• “Soup stock” vegetables like carrots, celery, onions, potatoes can be a nice base with color, taste, and texture.
• If you’re using beans or legumes primarily for nutrition or texture, and want to highlight another flavor, choose something with a mild flavor, such as lentils, chickpeas, or white beans, which will absorb the accent flavors rather than compete with them.  For example, if you want to highlight basil or lemon, one of these mild beans/legumes would work much better than black beans, which have a strong, distinctive flavor.  (Black beans of course pair very well with “southwestern flavors,” such as cumin and chili.)
• If you’re using nuts, lightly toasting them first adds depth of flavor.
• Liquid smoke is great for creating that outdoor grill taste.
• Try some of these to impart strong flavor: hot sauce, barbeque sauce, mustards, ketchup, and nut butters. 

Preparation – Making vegan burgers is very quick if you have a food processor, but they’re not required.

• Pulse or chop your ingredients small, but don’t puree. You want some texture.
• Make your burgers all approximately the same size for uniform cooking.  An easy way to do this is to divide the batter first in half, then in half again, etc. 
• You can roll into balls and flatten by hand for a very decent looking, rustic burger. (This is what I do.) Or, to be fancier, you can use a cookie cutter and form smooth-edged burgers that look store bought.

Cooking tips – You can pan fry, bake, or grill.  Don’t be concerned about using some oil. Vegan burgers are so much lower in fat than beef burgers, and you need some fat to prevent sticking, to create texture and flavor. 

• Pan frying is quick and easy.  Just heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet, and depending on the burger, it’ll take 3-5 minutes per side.
• Baking takes a little more time – typically 12-15 minutes per side – but it’s inactive time.  It’s a good idea to spray or rub a little oil on both sides of the burgers before putting them the oven to help them get a nice golden, crispy exterior. Typical oven temperature for burgers is 350 or 375 degrees. Baking is an especially good for delicate burgers that may not withstand a lot of handling.
• Grilling requires you start with a firm burger and add oil generously.  Also clean and oil your grill grates. You need the fat to prevent sticking, as well as to develop the flavor and texture.