Make Vegetarian Sausage

Morning Glory said:
You need something to bind the spinach and mushrooms together. Very often, beans or lentils are used as a base, as they will help bind. They also provide protein. Breadcrumbs also help. The spinach will need to be cooked and as dried out as possible otherwise it will exude water and the burger will be a mushy heap!
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You are a genius ! How could I have not thought of - BEANS ? Just mixed in with all the rest, but made first, like refried beans.

Friend of mine makes exellent refried beans, serves it with green chili. But I would make sure they are not too wet, that they have some body to them.

I would not want chick peas/hummus type stuff. More like something you would use to make baked beans or ham n beans. Something with flavor.

So now imagine the beans, mushrooms and spinach all ground together, think of the flavor. Done just right, some may prefer that to meat sausage.
 
Problem with that idea is I do not like chic peas.

Now egg whites, OH YEAH. Something to do with them finally. We want yolks for many things, a couple of sauces I shall learn to make, and for Steak Tartare. there are other things.

Anyway beans have been mentioned and I think some are going in, but more like other kinds of beans.

Actually, maybe whole eggs would be better than just whites.

I dunno, I am glad this is not something with a deadline.

T
 
Termyn8or said:
Problem with that idea is I do not like chic peas.

Now egg whites, OH YEAH. Something to do with them finally. We want yolks for many things, a couple of sauces I shall learn to make, and for Steak Tartare. there are other things.

Anyway beans have been mentioned and I think some are going in, but more like other kinds of beans.

Actually, maybe whole eggs would be better than just whites.

I dunno, I am glad this is not something with a deadline.

T
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Mayonnaise with the yolks and better than any store bought. Yes whole eggs will act like a binder in the sausage mix as well, just make it more dense which I personally wouldn't want in this application imo. I'd probably add caramelized onion cooked in coconut oil to add umami and the oil for mouthfeel. Nothing worse than a dry log and calling it sausage. You also want to cook your filling before putting it in a casing.
 
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You mentioned mushroom and they definitely will add texture but I would mix in some oyster mushrooms with say minced cremini. The oyster will kinda melt and be a little slimy which again represents a mouthfeel for a veg sausage.

Cooking everything first allows to make adjustments to texture, viscosity, seasoning and to taste before going through all the work only to find it disappointing and trying again or giving up. Its not meat so there's no need to cook past a desired heat and nothing worse to find that the onion and mushroom and other ingredients havn't cooked completely.

I would probably use hominy grits as a filler, The larger ones. cook until soft in a decent vegetable stock with your spices like fennel, anise or whatever some herbs etc. When cooked and you might want to cook them a little more so they're definitely soft, and if the kernels are too big you can chop them by hand to the size that is more suitable to resemble ground meat.
 
garlichead said:
Not sure. I can only respond to the original brief which was making sausages.
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Sure - your comments are perfectly on topic and good advice. I was just wondering if Termyn8or had ever made sausages before and had the equipment. If not , then starting with vegetarian sausages is not the easiest thing.

Maybe Termyn8or can comment?
 
garlichead said:
What, you never heard of sausage patties....:thumbsup:
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Morning Glory said:
Oh - OK! But they are similar to burgers and much easier to make than sausage in casing. But hey - what would be the difference between a vegetarian sausage pattie and a vegetarian burger? :scratchhead:
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As I wrote earlier in this thread.

medtran49 said:
It is about sausage, but a burger is basically un-cased sausage, so same principals, especially if you stuff it in a casing. It's not going to fall apart that way, and, technically, it's not a sausage if not in a casing. It's a patty.
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Well i can comment...

The sausage plan, but not vegetarian is decades old. The olman and I discussed it at length. We had a meat grinder with a horn but my roomie who needed a severe thrashing lost one of the blades. She is the one who wrecked my good knife leaving it i the dishwater, and almost my wood cutting board.

But before that the olman did buy a sausage stuffer, no grinder attached, but that's no problem. It got lost when I moved but they are cheap.

We had it all planned out, mesure all the igredients meticulously. Fry, taste and adjust, always keeping a record of how much what is in there.

Not having done it before, I say there is always a first time.

T
 
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