Beefless Burgers

Lesson

The American hamburger is all about beef.

But, that being said, a lot of folks prefer burgers made with other meats, fish, poultry or even vegetables instead. Whether they just don’t like beef, are vegetarian–or just wish to make their burgers out of other protein–we hereby offer up some suggestions for non-bovine burgers.

Vegetarian

Whether it’s tofu, tempeh, seitan or vegetables, you can make some tasty non-meat burgers that will wow your guests. Veggie burgers, as they’re called, cook quickly and can easily become too dry, so watch them closely on the grill. And while each of our vegetarian burger recipes has a moisture-inducing liquid in the ingredients, cook these burgers only until both sides of the “burger” are just turning brown and getting grill marks to ensure a tasty, moist and nutritious meal.

Turkey

Probably the most popular non-cow burger is made with ground turkey, which is readily available at most grocery stores or butcher shops. It’s usually a tad more expensive than beef, but it can make a really nice burger. The thing to remember is that turkey is very lean, and the fat in beef burgers does several things: 1. It helps hold the meat together while it cooks. 2. It adds moisture. 3. It adds taste.

But white turkey meat is virtually fat-free, which is one reason why some people choose it instead of beef. Of course, that means you have to add some liquid or sauce to help hold the meat together, as well as add some moisture so the patty isn’t too dry.

Usually eggs are the ingredient of choice, as the protein firms up when it cooks, and acts as sort of a culinary glue to hold the turkey patty together. You may also want to add breadcrumbs, a flavoring liquid to increase the moisture content, and some spices, herbs, or chopped veggies to boost the flavor.

Chicken, pork and more

Ground chicken isn’t as popular as turkey, but patties made with just white meat are low in fat and can be delicious. Yet, like turkey, chicken patties need some stick-together help and some additional liquids or sauces to keep them moist.

Ground pork is another substitute protein, although it usually contains more fat than beef. You could mix in some ground pork with your turkey or other non-beef meats to add the fat content necessary to hold together a flavorful patty.

Speaking of fat, another popular patty meat is sausage. Sausage has a quite bit of fat in it, though. It’s about the same as pork, but definitely more than beef. Mixed with spices and grilled, it makes a very flavorful burger, if a bit on the non-lean side.

Lamb is another favorite for great flavored burgers. They’re often served in pita bread with feta cheese, lemon juice, mint, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, and cumin.

Wild game

Next in line for substitute burgers is wild game like venison, elk, moose, antelope and buffalo. Of these, the most common is buffalo. Like all wild game, buffalo is low in calories and cholesterol, and much of the fat in buffalo meat is actually omega-3 fats, which can be good for you. And, as with cooking most game meats, since they are less fatty, you may want to cook them to a medium-rare state. Overcooking can produce a leathery and tasteless result.

A few large members of the bird family make this list as more and more people are trying and liking hamburger-style ground meat from emu and ostrich. Despite being classified as poultry, both produce a very red meat that looks like beef. According to the National Heart Association and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whose studies confirm early reports, emu has been found to be lower in fat and higher in protein and other nutrients–when compared with bison, venison, elk and ostrich. Additional comparison found emu meat lower in fat than chicken, turkey, pork and beef. Both emu and ostrich are also very lean, low in cholesterol and fat, and high in vitamins, especially iron. Eating an emu or ostrich burger is like eating a lean beef burger; in most cases, people can’t tell the difference.

Now you’re almost ready to start grilling! Check out our vegetarian burger recipes!

According to the USDA, and most State and Local Health Departments:
All foods that you cook, prepare, and serve outdoors must follow two rules: You must keep hot food at least at 140°F at all times. Conversely, you must keep all cold food at 40°F or colder at all times. Food must not be left at room temperature for more than 30 minutes, maximum. Any food left between 41°F and 140°F for more than 4 hours is not safe to eat. More information on food safety can be found here.