plant based meats (impossible, beyond, gardein, etc)

yeah i think what i'm saying is that the beyond/impossible category is falling for me whereas i'll always chomp into a chickpea/beet/root vegetable/whatever mash that doesn't have a bunch of other chemicals in it. those tend to very salty too. i had the shakeshack veggie burger yesterday, which i like better than the portabello burger they had before (not filled with cheese!) but was still super salty...

Yeah that's fair, I'm totally good with those too as long as they sort of hang together. Love a beet burger with whatever gluten & egg sorcery is involved in getting them to have a firm structure & texture.

And I think of getting those at restaurants moreso, because we're usually too lazy to make them at home. What are the good store-bought versions these days? I assume we've advanced from the Morningstar black bean burgers of yore.

Yeah if it's a gateway to getting people to eat less meat, I can get on board with them.

morningstar farms keeps me alive

fwiw I think cooking with these as ingredients in a dish that’s more complex, like an etoufee, is the way to go - as plain burger substitutes they all fall a bit short imo (sez omnivore)

Luckily our home burgers tend to be so overloaded with condiments and and side sauces that the burger itself is merely one ingredient among many.

yeah the patty is more of a structural element than a taste element in a fully loaded burger imo

yeah that is what burgers are for me -- a vehicle for toppings. i like beyond burgers. i haven't experimented a ton with it outside of burgers but i did try to make it Ethiopian style and it was both easy and tasty. it had so many spices that i couldn't really single out any aspect of the flavor aside from garliconiongingerberbere.

i don't actually like beef burgers all that much and am not a fan of ketchup, yellow mustard or mayo.

also i like the beyond burgers because i can eat them at room temp after they have been sitting there for a while which is how i eat dinner several nights a week at work. they feed us at work but i can't eat restaurant food 3x/week or i will die.

Ooh Ethiopian burger

Xps I agree about the Beyond and Impossible burgers - they taste pretty incredible the first time but I find I can’t eat them very often or that “off” taste starts to be really dominant.

Trader Joe’s has a ground beef that’s pretty good in a spaghetti bolognese or similar.

Good old tofu is honestly great - freezing and thawing super firm tofu gives it a great texture and it takes marinades/sauces really well.

I tried the Fynd (sp?) patties awhile ago and thought they were awful. Very weird chemical flavor.

Ive got to the point when i want to make a burger-y sandwich i'll steam and pan fry a tempeh slab. Or for open faced sando will season and pan fry tofu. I love that these alternatives exist just don't feel like eating alot of it.
Yes to freezing tofu
And that tj's beef is also fine in a chilli imho