The idea of beef just being beef isn't good enough for some people. They have this insatiable idea of putting other foods inside a hamburger.
We're not talking stuffed burgers — an odd phenomena of its own — but mixing other ingredients within the hamburger meat.
We're also not talking meatloaf, with eggs and bread crumbs. A startling number of Canadian restaurants, based on a cursory look at "You Gotta Eat Here," put eggs and bread crumbs and other ingredients in their beef and present them as "burgers."
Classically, burgers should have salt and pepper and meat: no added filler.
If you have to put something in the beef to make a burger, there is one filler ingredient that won't remind you of meatloaf.
Mushrooms and beef go together extremely well, and might make me crawl out of my shell.
Using mushrooms allows the home cook to use less meat, involving fewer calories with less fat and sodium as well as fewer greenhouse gases.
Putting mushrooms in a burger requires you to mince the mushrooms and cook them first. Since mushrooms retain moisture, that could make for a juicier burger, though you need to make sure there isn't too much moisture. You would also have to be careful with what flavors you add to the mushrooms. Since butter goes well with beef, you should use butter to saute the minced mushrooms if you allow butter in your diet.
As for the ratio, the general consensus is 20%. In a 5 oz. burger, you only lose 1 oz. of meat, but in a ½ pound burger, you would use 1.6 oz. of mushrooms. Your mushroom mileage may vary.
The ideal amount might be as much as you can put into the burger mixture before you and your friends and loved ones would notice.
The more practical use of mushrooms is in complex dishes, such as taco fillings and chili. Hiding mushrooms is almost too easy for those dishes, making its use more prevalent in complex dishes to make an impact without sacrificing texture and flavor.
There is another way to add mushrooms to burgers that doesn't involve trickery or sacrifice. Slice mushrooms thin, saute them (again, ideally in butter), and then place them on the bottom bun. Place burger on top of the sliced mushrooms. Add top bun and serve.
Sauteed mushrooms fit nicer at the bottom of a burger because they can more easily slip out from the top.
Want to use less meat and add more mushrooms? Cook a smaller burger, add mushrooms to the bottom. You get beef and mushroom in every bite. You don't have to worry about ratios and seasonings and anything other than making sure your burger is at the temperature you desire.
If you are going to put food in your burger besides meat, you can't get a better partner than mushrooms.
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