this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2024
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The meat industry is always trying to greenwash themselves somehow, they cannot be trusted.
With how intensely serious and rapid global warming is becoming, we really don't have time to try and make meat lower emissions, we need to move away from it now.
Though unfortunately expensive, impossible burgers and ground 'beef' are virtually indistinguishable from the real deal already, and IMHO taste better than real, and truly are a guilt-free-ish alternative that exists right now. I only hope demand increases so they can scale up even harder and bring prices down to the same cost as cheap beef.
You can get textured vegetable protein, or textured soya protein for pretty cheap. It gives that 'ground beef" texture and just kind of tastes like whatever it's cooked in. I made baked ziti with it last night.
I know it's a bit of an ask because in terms of taste it's nowhere near an exact replacement for meat or cheese, but tofu is both cheap(ish) and healthy. Unless you have a soy allergy, do incorporate that rather than Impossible et al.s bleeding, complicated protein remixes powered by VC money. (I don't have a hardline stance against vegan meat replacements but when they are too pricey for you there's no reason to buy animal meat.)
I'm probably up to, like, 90% vegetarian these days (it's been a long road lol). I can definitely tell the difference with Impossible/Beyond. But they're absolutely "good enough" for me. The good thing is they're still improving, so can only get better. But yeah, they're quite expensive (nearly twice the cost per pound of regular ground beef). I tend to wait until they're on sale, buy in bulk, and freeze them.
If I'm at a cookout or potluck and make burgers, I usually have to label the Beyond/Impossible ones or people react badly. If I'm making things like chili / tacos or sides like Hamburger Helper and such, people can't tell at all. The only giveaway is that they're in the vegetarian section of the table.
You're way ahead of me, I've been kinda stuck trying to find a good homemadd alternative to impossible, but it's been tough to find something that passes the good enough mark.
I notice the difference with Beyond meat as well, which has a slightly unpleasant aftertaste for me too. Overall just OK. Usually don't seek it out.
I'm surprised people at those cookouts can notice with impossible though. I haven't tried to grill them, so maybe that makes it more pronounced? But out of my airfryer, I genuinely cannot detect anything unmeaty about them, which blew my mind the first time I tried em.
I tend to get them as a treat since they're so much. I rarely see them on sale around here :/
Had to circle back to this comment:
I just air-fried two of the Impossible patties. OMG they're amazing that way. Thanks for recommending that. I would never have thought (even though I air fry all kinds of random stuff).
Eyyy! Glad to hear it man :D
Were they more beefy and less noticeably not meat compared to the grill? Because if yes, then I'm starting to wonder if maybe beyond beef would be better in the air fryer too, since I only ever tried frying those in a cast iron pan.
I've only grilled them on propane (and rarely at that) but they always came out really dry (not sure if that was Impossible or Beyond as I don't really pay attention to the difference. Could also just be me failing at grilling xD).
These Impossbles from the air fryer were noticeably beefier tasting, juicier, and nice and crispy on the outside.
Would have to compare against a charcoal grill, but this is definitely better than propane grill or in the skillet on the stove.
Honestly, it might have been Beyond rather than Impossible. I don't often distinguish between them since I just buy whatever's on sale and throw it in the freezer. When I'm cooking for myself, either's fine, so I don't care which I grab.
I don't think I've ever air fried them, though, so that's something I may try. I should also start using a charcoal grill rather than propane. Would probably give them a better flavor.
We use charcoal and it's pretty darn good. We prefer to cook them until there's a 'crispy' texture on the outside, my SO doesn't enjoy softer textures and figured out a way to carefully cook them to have a bit of char. They feel even closer to beef like this to us.
I've also experimented with a griddle by smashing them thin too. Results were promising, I just haven't quite got it down yet though
I personally prefer the Impossible meat, it feels a lot more like beef than Beyond. Not to say Beyond isn't great too though
I've had Impossible from Red Robin and Burger King, which both grill their burgers, and have found them to be pretty darn indistinguishable, and I'm a big time burger fan.
The Beyond I find to be very distinct. I haven't been around "raw" Impossible patties, but I've made the Beyonds at home a number of times. They smell like cat food to me before they're cooked up, but I absolutely love the flavor of them so much! They have this vegetal background taste, but whatever it is, it tickles my taste buds in a very pleasant way for someone not usually the biggest veggie fan. I could see people not liking it, but I get periodic cravings for it now, since it is such a distinct flavor that nothing else matches.