I really wonder if there are special cooking instructions to make them that might be causing so many restaurants to pull them off the menu.
I've tried several Beyond burgers at various restaurants, and all of them were the worst burgers I've ever had. Dry, tasteless, and chewy - absolutely nothing like real meat. Do a degree that I question if they're all being prepared wrong.
Carl's also has the beyond burger, which I personally think is superior. My wife disagrees, and prefers your standard veggie burgers (we are vegans of 15 years).
I do have one valid complaint with Beyond Burgers. I am a fan of meat. I like meat. I love a good cheese burger.
And Beyond Burgers actually taste fine. Not amazing, not “just like beef” but not bad. I can eat a Beyond Burger and feel satisfied.
My problem with Beyond Burgers or Beyond products as a whole is that they STINK! Bad! When cooking. I don’t know why but cooking a beyond burger stinks up my kitchen worse than my cats litter box freshly pooped in.
I was going to ask about this. They already have a veggie burger here which (to my knowledge) isn't cooked with the meat patties. Why would you cook an otherwise-meat-free burger with the meat patties?
Personal anecdote. Initially I wasn't interested in trying the Beyond Meat burgers. But recently, I've tried it once at a hotel restaurant and actually thought they tasted alright, so ordered it a few more times after, while I was staying at the hotel. Later the hotel changed the menu and didn't sell them anymore. I've ordered a normal beef burger and actually thought they taste worse than the Beyond Meat burgers. Since coming back home, I've bought the Beyond Meat patties at my local supermarket, and been making the burgers myself.
I’ve only ever cooked the store bought beyond burgers and prefer grilling them. minor adjustments in cooking technique can produce both red-in-the-middle and well done versions. I don’t care for the pan fryed version as it crusts and sometimes burns a little if left on one side too long.
My wife taught a business class using the Beyond Meat company as one of the examples. We got a costco box of beyond meat patties to check them out and I cooked and served them (just to the family). They reminded me of a puck of cat food when frozen/de-thawing. Smelled weird cooking. Then for just the time I was eating, came really dam close to a real burger. But no one had any desire to reheat any leftovers. My opinion was they are close, but the concept needs a bit more work. I also think they might be better in a restaurant setting as it's kind like sausage, it's best not to know the process and just enjoy the finished product.
We also have a Next Level Burger in our local Whole Foods we occasionally eat at and if they added Beyond Meat to the menu I don't think I would order it over the other vegi patties they already serve...
Beyond Meat gets name-checked in the article, but I want to emphasize that their burgers are pretty good: https://jakeseliger.com/2017/08/23/beyond-meat-burgers-are-p... and in my view underappreciated right now. If you've not tried them yet, you ought to.
I'm a pretty shameless meat eater (I know...), and tried the Beyond Burger at Carl's a while back out of curiosity (not an outfit I visit often, I do try to stay local at least).
Granted that Carl's loads their stuff up with ridiculous amounts of sauce as a way to mask their crappiness, but still ... I don't think I'd be able to reliably tell the difference in a blind test.
Given a good burger from a high quality pub and grill or similar, I might be able to.
But as far as I care, that can just become an occasional treat, as it pretty much is now. I'm waiting for a little more word on the nutritional science of these things, but once they look good there, I'll be happy if they replace my regular burger patties pretty much everywhere.
I've never bought (individual) stock before but I'm sorely tempted to buy some of this a few days after it becomes available. Absent some Theranos-level fuckery, I expect that these guys (and their competitors) are going to be huge.
FWIW I think he's predicting something which is already beginning to happen. Carl's Jr. (Hardees to you midwestern/east coast folks) recently added Beyond Meat patties to their menu (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-beyond-meat-carl-s-jr-idU...). For a small price extra, you can get a not-farmed-meat burger and they're promoting it pretty heavily.
I dropped in a while back, was surprised to see it on the menu, thought "eh, what the hell", and it was pretty good. I have the kind of palate that would make Gordon Ramsay cry himself to sleep, so I wasn't able to tell the difference between one of their Beyond burgers and one of their regular burgers. Probably helps that their items are a mess of sauces and nonsense too.
Anyway, now when I go back in, I find that I'm having to justify to myself getting a farmed meat burger vs. a Beyond burger, and ... there's not really any justification for it.
I doubt most of Carl's customer base debate personal ethics while staring at the menu, but still, there's no way I'm the only one.
Beyond Meat do burgers that are particularly close to the real thing. Bleeds correctly, burns slightly in the right way. My main issue is not the taste experience, but that the thing is probably quite processed. For instance there's a lot of salt. If the thing is a really good reproduction of a burger, might it also be just as unhealthy? Waiting to see while I enjoy having one now and again.
I'm also trying to be as vegan as possible, but mainly for health reasons. Though after starting that, I now also think there's ethical reasons. Funny how that works.
I try hard to avoid red meat for reasons but I do like a burger. I tried the Beyond when it was new and I was really impressed. I thought it tasted great and held together as a patty in a way that a lot of "traditional" bean and veg patties fail to do.
Unfortunately after I had cooked a bunch of them I realized what the smell of uncooked Beyond reminded me of: wet cat food. Now I can't get that association out of my head and the smell of the uncooked patties is so revolting I can't really enjoy them any more :(
A&W was our go-to fast food hamburger place even before beyond meat burgers as their veggie deluxe burger was already fairly good, though I'd still order a meat burger.
Now we both get the beyond meat burger and I honestly can't tell the difference between them and their standard meat patties. Granted, that's a lower bar than fresh ground beef coming off a barbecue, but still impressive.
Less taste? That's not a complaint I've heard nor experienced. I've always found Beyond burgers to be a bit strange, sure, kinda like the uncanny valley of hamburger patties, but I certainly never found them to be bland.
There are places with Beyond Burger in Berlin and it's one of the best patties I tried, to the point were some non-vegetarians friends choose it when available.
Carl’s Jr. doesn’t keep their Beyond Burgers separate, apparently.
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