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posted by martyb on Tuesday March 06 2018, @01:57AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-not-an-Impossible-Burger dept.

Blending around 70% ground beef with 30% chopped mushrooms could reduce the environmental impact of beef:

The idea is that mixing chopped mushrooms into our burgers boosts the umami taste, adds more moisture and reduces the amount of beef required for a burger. And reducing the need for beef has a big impact on the environment. According to the World Resources Institute [WRI], if 30 percent of the beef in every burger in America were replaced by mushrooms, it would reduce greenhouse emissions by the same amount as taking 2.3 million vehicles off of our roads.

[...] Richard Waite, from the World Resources Institute, is thrilled. "I think it's great!" he says. WRI has been pushing the blended beef-mushroom burger as a candidate to become one of America's most-served menu items, which WRI calls "power meals." According to Waite, the list of the top 20 meals served by food service companies currently contains only one plant-based item, a veggie wrap. The rest are meat-centric, including four versions of the classic hamburger.

Many niche burger makers and school cafeterias have joined the blended burger bandwagon. In the dining rooms of Stanford University, Waite says, it's the only kind of burger you'll find. But Sonic's 3,500 drive-in restaurants represent a huge boost to the concept.

Here's a recipe for a roasted mushroom base and beef-mushroom burgers.


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  • (Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday March 06 2018, @03:09PM (4 children)

    by AthanasiusKircher (5291) on Tuesday March 06 2018, @03:09PM (#648519) Journal

    I don't doubt your burger tastes quite good. On the other hand, I wonder if you're covering up the taste of bland beef.

    We have a food industry in the U.S. dedicated to maximum production and speed. Taste and flavor is secondary. Cattle are bred and fed to make the most meat at the fastest rate. That's not going to necessarily produce the most flavorful beef. I imagine this is true to some extent in industrial farming in other countries too.

    I often grind my own beef at home when making burgers. For many years I also used to throw in some vegetables and a complex mixture of spices, sometimes dashes of sauces, etc. And it tasted good.

    But then I started trying to find better beef with a stronger flavor... Which can be hard to find. (Mixing beef from a couple different cuts of the cow can help.). And I found all those fillers covered up the good flavor of the pure beef. Nowadays, I often only add just a little black pepper (occasionally a dash of another spice or herb) to the mix. Salt actually radically changes the texture of burgers during cooking, so I've taken to frequently excluding that from the mix too and only salting after cooking.

    To each their own, though. I have no problem with those who want to add significant filler to a burger -- eventually you end up with something that's more like a meatball or sausage, but that can be good too. I just think GOOD beef can be great on its own too.

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday March 06 2018, @04:17PM (1 child)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday March 06 2018, @04:17PM (#648541) Journal

    You remind me of an old friend. Most of my life, when I had a steak or anything, someone was handing me some A1 or something similar to put on the steak. Went to a restaurant with this guy, and we both ordered steaks. Waitress asked if we wanted steak sauce, and his reply was, "Why, is the steak that bad?" That got me to thinking, so I ate my steak without any sauce. Yep - it was a great steak, and putting A1 on it would have pretty much ruined the flavor.

    I don't mind mixing in some veggies or whatever in a meatloaf. Don't mind condiments on a burger. But, if I'm having a steak, just trot that thing across the fire, and bring it to me. Good beef doesn't really need any help. Bad beef can't get enough help! Mediocre beef should have been ground up for hamburger.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 07 2018, @07:22AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 07 2018, @07:22AM (#648915)

      You remind me of my friend who would go ballistic if someone tried to serve him hot dogs or hamburgers (lamb burgers are OK).

  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday March 06 2018, @07:54PM

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Tuesday March 06 2018, @07:54PM (#648644)

    All meat is somewhat bland in flavor; that's why we do things like marinades and sauces and use spices, and it's been this way for centuries and in most cultures around the world.

  • (Score: 2) by Kawumpa on Wednesday March 07 2018, @04:46AM

    by Kawumpa (1187) on Wednesday March 07 2018, @04:46AM (#648883)

    This, most people buy either store ground beef or the wrong cuts and then wonder why the burger tastes bland. Everybody will have to find their own blend, but I recommend at least a third of short rib and if you want it a little funky, grind in some oxtail as well. You can salt post-forming, pre-grilling/searing. Don't handle the meat excessively and keep it cool.