Day 3: A Better Beyond Burger

Whoever got the idea for the modern American burger is a genius.  So simple: sesame bun, meat, cheese, dressing of some kind, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle. Add a little ketchup, or mustard if you like, and PERFECTION. 

So what does an aspiring vegan gotta do to get a decent burger around here? It looks like almost every fast food joint and gourmet burger spot has their version of a veggie burger. Baker's has a Boca burger. Eureka Burger has a (in my opinion completely REVOLTING) beet and kidney bean burger. Burgertown has a grainy nut-riddled veggie patty that is made decent from copious amounts of add-ons such as cheese, avocado, mushrooms, etc etc. And of course,  you have Carl's Jr and Burger King's Beyond Burger. 

At first glance, all of these places seem to offer a shot at decent meal. But upon closer inspection, it becomes much harder for a vegan. Most veggie burgers that are offered, use mayonaise as a base for their sauce. And to kill the taste of the fact that you're trying desperately to substitute the deliciousness of beef, with some sort of grain or bean or nut, or disgusting combination of beets and beans (sorry Eureka, your veggie burger is gross), cheese is added as a last ditch effort. 

After having the Beyond Burger at both Carl's and Burger King in the past, I figured why not make a vegan version? I mean you can get cheese and mayo substitutes fairly easily at Clark's and Trader Joe's. The true test would have to be in the taste. SCARY. Especially for a lover of Kewpie Japanese mayo in all of its eggy, fattening, velvety-mouth-feel glory. And does vegan cheese even melt? I remember trying a cheese substitute years ago that you could roll up and use for racquetball...

Anyway, here's what I came up with at Clark's:

They have it pre-portioned into patties as well. Lazy me, got both!

The packaging BOASTS that this vegan cheese melts. Fuck it. Why not?

I got lucky! They were doing a tasting, so I got to try this before purchasing. Much to my surprise it didn't taste like the foul lie that Vegannaise is. It's actually very good.

I cooked everything almost like I would normally, if it were an Angus burger, dripping away at medium rare. Fuck I miss beef... Anyway, I digress... Couldn't use Worcestershire because (SURPRISE!) it has damn ANCHOVIES in it. Bet you didn't know that did ya?! I did use seasoning salt for the Beyond Burger patty though. After flipping it, I threw some of the supposedly capable-of-melting, cheese shreds on it, covered it with a pan and let it finish off on the grill. 

I have to say that the final product was AMAZING. Used the vegan garlic aioli, added the requisite tomato, onion, and pickle, double checked the sesame bun for any eggs or milk in the ingredients, and added a touch of ketchup. PS I grilled the tomato slice. I like it better that way. 

Yes, I'm patting myself on the back for this one. I figure it's a huge win! I let some people try a bite of it at work, and the general consensus was that this is a damn good burger. Beyond "meat" for the gold! Don't know how the makers of this product figured out how to make a tasty plant-based meat substitute, but I'll take it! For people like me who dream of tomahawk steaks and juicy burgers, this is a satisfying replacement. For now...