Wednesday 14 March 2012

Homemade Quorn Veggie Burgers



I know that you can get a lot of shop bought veggie burgers, however I wanted to be able to make my own and add my own flavours. Plus its always more fun and satisfying having made your own burgers rather than just bunged some shop bought ones in the oven.
I have never made these burgers before now so this was an experiment which turned successful, yay! I was worried it would be a flop as after doing research on the internet, most people said Quorn mince doesn't bind well as its a lot dryer than meat. Well I successfully managed to get it to bind together well and I'm so proud :-)
These burgers were really moist, not dry at all and full of flavour, I was really surprised. I'd like to see any meat eater not like these delicious burgers.
Right well here is the recipe, I must warn you though, while making it I didn't really use precise measurements. 

Ingredients (makes 2 burgers):

- Good handful of Quorn mince (defrosted)
- Half a Onion (finely chopped)
- Few Mushrooms (finely chopped)
- 1 Garlic Clove (crushed)
- Good handful of fresh Breadcrumbs
- 1 Egg
- Sprinkle of Flour
- Thyme
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cheese
- 2 Buns

1. Cook the onion in a pan with a little oil to soften on a low heat so as not to burn. Then add the mushrooms and the garlic and cook for a further few minutes till its all cooked. Remove from the heat.

2. Combine the Quorn mince, onions, mushrooms, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, sprinkle of thyme and salt and pepper to season. The breadcrumbs and egg is what binds this all together and makes it stick into the burger shapes.


Really mix and mush it together till its a sticky paste. If its too wet then just add more breadcrumbs. 



3. Now is the messy part. Get your hands right into the bowl of mince mix and squidge balls together to form burger shapes. Really squeeze them so they stay together. Then tap them in a sprinkle of flour on both sides. 


4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, it must be on a high heat in order to seal the burgers so that they don't fall apart. Place the burgers in the pan when its really hot. 


After about a minute or 2 turn the burgers over. 


Cook for a further few minutes until they are cooked through. 

5.Slice the buns in half. I like to put mayo on the top bun and tomato ketchup on the bottom bun as seen below. 


6. Slice up some cheese and place it on top of the burgers in the pan and then pop it under the grill until the cheese is melted. Pop the burgers onto the buns on the ketchup side. 



Put some lettuce on top of the burger and the bun on top. Serve with a side salad or chips.

Homemade Quorn Veggie Burgers served with a side salad.

14 comments:

  1. I so want to try these!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. For those who are looking for homemade recipes that are not only delicious but healthy, this one is something to try out! The finished product looks very delicious and you can serve this as a snack or meal to your family. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Made these for the family, worked a treat, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll be trying these tomorrow! Meanwhile, here is a little tip that I use...

    One way to stop the Quorn being dry is to leave it soaking in a little olive oil for half an hour or so. Since Quorn has no fat, adding a little is no big deal. And anyway, olive oil is good for you!

    You can also the oil to flavour the Quorn as it will just soak up everything! So a good herb-infused oil will give you great tasting Quorn mince.

    And do it with Quorn sausages, too, to make them really succulent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. if you soak quorn in olive oil a little water and some herbs that works and it adds more flavor

      Delete
    2. It's what they taste like that counts isn't it? and these taste lovely. Anyway, I think they look fine.

      Delete
  5. Nice recipe. If you want an asian twist to this recipe, substitute the thyme for 1tsp ground cumin, 1tsp ground corriander, 1tsp ginger paste or fresh ginger grated (I prefer paste as fresh ginger is very fibrous) and red chilli powder/paprika to taste. Also I often combine grated cheese into the quorn mix before searing as this helps bring everything together, but the key is to both have it initially wet enough, and then have enough flour. I have it so sticky, almost paste-like and then spoon it into a pan with hot oil and spread it into the burger shape I want because in its sticky state it holds together amazingly. Then when one side is seared it can easily be flipped without breaking.

    The issue with quorn mince is that the liquid isnt really locked in, it can be squeezed out quite easily and to counteract this the best way is to use a mix of fluids (egg white/yolk, oil) and low moisture absorbent small particle solids such at flour and breadcrumb which love both water and oil and a mix of the two. The warm mix will also melt the cheese and that has its own adhesive properties which adds to the adhesion of the overall mix

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely recipe, will be making them again, thanks

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have made these and they were lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm currently making these now with added chilli pepper for a little spicyness. Thank you for the great recipe it's been very simple to follow and they already smell delicious

    ReplyDelete
  9. What can you use instead of egg.

    ReplyDelete
  10. What can you use instead of egg.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you can use the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas. See this link: http://aquafaba.com/faq.html

      Delete
  11. Hmm these look delicious, thanks for posting up this recipe, looks quite simple to make.


    Simon

    ReplyDelete