Is there a meat replacement out yet that's actually good tasting to a lifelong meat eater?
2I guess now’s a good time to ask what with the Meh deal today being veggie-based protein. A lot of the moral arguments on vegetarianism are very convincing, but they have yet to sway me over on the biggest factor. I’m of course asking the taste, texture, and experience of real meat. I tried the Impossible Whopper but frankly I wasn’t super impressed. That said, I haven’t had a regular Whopper in a while and so it’s possible Burger King just sucks. (Recent) Vegetarians of Meh, help me out please!
- 18 comments, 10 replies
- Comment
I have never had any that I liked. I worked for one outdoor adventure program that insisted that everything was vegetarian. Food was part of our pay. I hated much of what we were served. Repeated consumption of that didn’t improve the taste. In the last two years a friend of mine who is a decent cook “converted” (I say converted as she is a “vegetarian missionary” at the moment) to vegetarianism and her attempts to convert me include inviting me over for dinner. While a few meals were OK and included things I’d voluntarily eat again, nothing she has passed off as fake meat tastes anything like it and mostly it tasted pretty terrible (in my opinion anyway). I notice she uses a lot more spices (which she leaves off of my portions since I am not all that fond of most spices) which may be her way to try to disguise the taste of some of this stuff, including some fake meat dishes. Who knows. I try to be polite and so have not given her my actual true opinion. I do eat over at her house less because I suddenly have “things to do that I can’t change”.
I had some incogmeato bratwursts recently … and while it’s not bad IMHO, its reliance on seasoning and the dry texture are giveaways that it’s not meat.
Regardless of how one may feel about its morality, there is no substitute for actual meat, no matter what these companies may tell you. The Incogmeato TV ads in particular are rather pretentious.
I’ve had the impossible whopper several times. Sometimes it’s nearly indistinguishable from real meat, other times it’s fairly noticeable.
I’m just waiting for the lab grown meat.
@RiotDemon I did a side by side test with whoppers. I preferred the impossible version, but the regular whopper was pretty bad.
@fibrs86 @RiotDemon I was going to say the same thing. The Burger King by where I work had a deal where Whoppers and Impossible Whoppers were 2 for $6, so I did one of each, and liked the Impossible Whopper better. Then, I convinced my parents to do a blind taste test. They each got half of a regular and an Impossible Whopper, and I knew which was which but they did not. They both picked the Impossible Whopper. I think they sell the Impossible burger meat at a regular grocery store now, so I might try to buy some and fry it up as burgers(and maybe tacos or chili or spaghetti and meat sauce or something, too) for a better comparison.
I’ve had the Impossible burrito from Chipotle and in that context, indistinguishable. I’m leery of a burger or something that is an intact faux meat unit.
@LinnE I tried Beyond Chicken, which is pea protein based imitation Chicken. The texture and flavor were really close, where I think I might not be able to tell the difference if I was served the fake stuff without being told. Otherwise, solid meat instead of crumbles has been hit and miss. Impossible Whoppers though I actually like more than regular Whoppers. I am planning to maybe buy some Impossible beef from the grocery soon, now that it is in stores, and try it a few ways.
I bought some fake meat crumbles from Aldi because they were on sale. I stuffed peppers with them and it was pretty good. I don’t know that it tasted like meat because honestly, stuffed peppers have all that rice and tomato and other veggie taste going on. If they were on sale, I would probably buy them again.
try an impossible burger. they’re not identical to cow burgers but in my opinion they taste better.
@tjamesturner you can make these at home or buy them at sit down burger shops like red robin. most impossible meat burgers are thicker than a whopper and obviously can have different toppings.
If you’ve been convinced by the moral arguments then wouldn’t that trump meat’s deliciousness?
I am not a vegetarian, and am not really judging. I don’t have those moral convictions. However, I do prefer to maintain a primarily vegetarian diet. So, really, you didn’t even ask my opinion, so I’m probably just being a dick.
In my opinion, chasing the meat “experience” through vegetarian means is a losing proposition. You would be better off exploring and appreciating vegetarian meals that don’t pretend to be something that they are not.
India is full of vegetarians. A huge chunk of the population is vegetarian. They don’t eat fake meat. They were vegetarian before fake meat was a thing. I don’t think it would even occur to 90% of them to ever try to make their food be more like meat. Chana Masala is one of my all-time favorite foods and it’s vegetarian.
If you’re looking to go full vegan, of course, then you’ll have a bit more trouble with Indian food.
But there’s a whole world of nutritionally-complete vegetarian food out there that isn’t fake meat. If you can adjust your expectations you can find a lot of great stuff.
@Limewater I love Indian food. Their curries are so diverse. It’s definitely one of my favorite cuisines to both cook and eat. And I have said the same thing for a very long time. No judgment but definitive confusion on the not wanting to eat meat but wanting to eat things that look and taste like meat when there are so many amazing vegetarian dishes out there.
@Limewater Came here to say this. I’m not a vegetarian but I’ve had some damn fine vegetarian food. I’ve also had some very disappointing fake meats. Seems if I were trying to go vegetarian those disappointments could be discouraging.
I love fake meat. Beyond meat can be very tasty in a burrito; if you’re lucky enough to live in Wegmans country, their fake chicken nuggets are delicious. Alpha brand stuff is pretty ok too. Gardein chick’n patties make for an ok sandwich. And, it’s underrated, but there’s a lot to be said for frying up some tofu or drowning some seitan in BBQ sauce.
I’ve never had an impossible whopper bc I don’t eat fast food but I love impossible burgers. I probably haven’t had red meat in 20 years.
I don’t care for most fake meats. Some of the Dr. Praeger’s veggie burgers are good. I’ll also eat Tofu Pups largely as a platform for a good country mustard and lots of crispy sauerkraut. Mostly I just cook from beans, grains, and other whole foods. I have a killer recipe for black bean patties. I make a lentil-quinoa loaf that’s really good. I also eat a lot of tempeh, stir-fried veggies with tofu, and bean or lentil soups.
On the rare occasions I want meat, I just eat meat. I’m not convinced that the locally-raised free range chicken or turkey I buy maybe once a month at the farmer’s market is worse for me or the planet than hyperprocessed pseudo-meat products with alarming amounts of coconut oil.
@eethomp
I’d like to try that. Can you share or give us a link? Thanks…
The Soyrizo at Trader Joe’s is delicious imo.
Great with eggs, mac and cheese, or on a taco!
Quickly crisp it up in a skillet and you’re good to go.
My opinion on the subject living near and working in a so called Blue City because of their vegetarianism - flat out fucking no way in hell.
That being said, it’s not eating vegetables that is bad. I could do that I suppose, go vegetarian, but I can’t eat the substitute crap. (and a boat ton of my vegetarian and vegan friends agree, especially those that ate meat sometime in their past.)
You can make interesting burger patties without meat, they are not ground beef, aka, hamburger, and never will be.
So decide to eat it, and go for it, or don’t. just don’t think of it as meat.
Found Impossible burgers and 1lb packs at Fresh Tyme (a grocery chain owned by the same company that owns Aldis, I think). They’re a higher end store trying to compete with Whole Foods, but more reasonably priced.
I liked the Impossible Whoppers, and not so much the Beyond products.
Locally in St. Louis, there is a company called Match that makes vegetarian meat alternatives in bulk form, like 1lb packs of “chicken”, “beef”, and “italian sausage”.
I would say most any of them would be fine for “taco meat” or burritos, with only some for burgers.
My local Sam’s Club at one time carried these:
https://www.morningstarfarms.com/en_US/products/burgers/morningstar-farms-garden-veggie-patties-tasty-product.html
I gave them a try and liked them (my wife and son didn’t care for them), though I am not usually happy with substitutes for standard products (don’t give me fake milk, ice cream, butter, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla flavoring, etc.). I was not expecting them to taste that close to beef burgers, and they didn’t. I bought them a few more times until Sam’s no longer carried them. I could still find them at other groceries, but they usually cost about double real beef burgers which I still like and prefer for the price.
In college, our cafeteria occasionally served some “soy burgers” which I didn’t think were too bad, either. And I generally like dishes made with tofu, if and only if prepared well.
@phendrick I’ve tried their black bean veggie burgers because my partner is a big fan. She’s not vegetarian, just happens to prefer the taste of the veggie burgers.
fuck no.
@carl669
Fuck no, fuck yes, fuck maybe, fuck no fucking way, fuck sure!
I’ve had the impossible whopper a couple of times and they seemed fine. I think they might be better than regular whoppers because those are usually a little dry and thinner.
I just hope we don’t find out later that all this imitation stuff was actually Soylent green packaged to imitate something that imitates something else!
KuoH
@kuoh
/giphy it’s people!!!
Yeah. Cow.