AFC BLOOD RED ITALIAN SAUSAGE BURGER
Hamburg is soft-textured. It’s not hard – even when cooked. These burgers replicate that texture. Isn’t it convenient to be able to take some dough from the refrigerator, form a patty and fry it? You can also bake the patties and refrigerate till ready to reheat and serve! Perfectly textured and flavored!
Makes 6-1/2 cups burger dough
14.5 oz. can sm. whole beets, drained well, then chopped finely
14 oz. tube Gimme Lean Veggie Sausage, at room temperature
1 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1-1/2 t. sea salt
2 t. smoked paprika
1 t. cinnamon
2 t. garlic powder
2 t. onion powder
5 t. finely ground fennel seed
lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 T. vegan (nutritional) yeast
2 c. textured vegetable protein (TVP) I used Bob’s Red Mill brand – place in warm water 3-4 minutes to reconstitute, then immediately drain and press repeatedly against wire mesh strainer firmly with fists to remove all excess water (this will take a few minutes)
In extra large bowl combine chopped beets and veggie sausage. Using potato masher completely incorporate the beets into the sausage.
Add remaining ingredients. Mash till all ingredients are evenly distributed and the dough is uniformly beet-red throughout and you can no longer taste the breadcrumb texture. This will take several minutes to mix properly so be patient.
Transfer to covered container and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to use, scoop out about 1/3 cup burger dough. Roll into a smooth meatball shape. Drizzle a little oil on the counter and smooth it out, then place meatball on the oil and flatten it with your palm to about 3/8 inch thick (no thicker). Smooth the edges, then lift with pancake turner into an oiled skillet over medium heat – do not use nonstick cookware.
Brown on both sides about 4 minutes each.
You can also bake the burgers. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Form the burgers the same as above. Place them on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, flip burgers over and bake 15 minutes longer. Immediately transfer to wire rack till cool.
If you want to bake a few meatballs, use about 2 T. dough per meatball, roll between palms till smooth all around.
Store some in covered container in refrigerator and freeze some. To reheat, place in skillet then place a lid in the skillet over the burger. Fry on both sides.
- Don’t freeze the burger dough
- Don’t substitute any other veggie meat product for the ground sausage
This burger dough also makes tasty crumbles to top salads. Fry in oil till crisp but chewy.
Notes: If you want to process the beets in a food processor, be careful that you don’t turn the chop to mush. That would inject too much liquid into the dough. Pulse.
You can also quarter the beets, then mash them directly into the veggie sausage. Mash till they’re evenly cut into very small pieces and evenly distributed throughout.
Reconstituting the TVP takes only a few minutes. If left to sit in the water too long, the TVP will plump up too much, and again inject too much water into the dough.
The meatballs I made with the dough are for slider sandwiches not spaghetti. I used Kalamata Red Gravy as the aus jus with great results. Spoon a little on the insides of the slider bun. Top with meatball, then serve a little heated gravy on the side for dipping.
extracting excess water from the reconstituted textured vegetable protein
finished burger dough
Meat ball sliders with Kalamata Red Gravy
Italian Sausage Crumble to top salads
ANIMAL-FREE SOUS-CHEF™ 