Background
This first iteration uses spelt and is a play on the Noma quinoa burger. The concept involves slightly grinding the dry grains, steaming them until just cooked through, and forming them into a burger mold. The intention is for the tempeh to bind the mixture, creating a meaty juiciness and density. Finally, the patty is grilled with a small amount of mushroom garum.
Recipe
Ingredients
200g Dry Spelt
Tempeh Starter
Mushroom Garum
Equipment
Grinder
Steamer
Burger Mold
Instructions
-
Preparation
Slightly grind the dry spelt grains. -
Cooking
Steam the grains until they are just cooked through. -
Forming
Inoculate the grains and form them into a burger mold. Allow the tempeh to ferment and bind the grains together. -
Finishing
Grill the patty, basting with mushroom garum.
Notes and Observations
- In this attempt, the tempeh was taken slightly too far, but the result was still delicious. It possessed a generic meatiness with a slight mushroom flavor.
- Including some liquid during cooking is beneficial. It absorbs into the mycelium and holds onto moisture and fat, similar to how a burger retains its juices.
- The resulting texture and mouthfeel were excellent, providing a bouncy consistency with some give.
- Future tests should explore different grains and combinations.
- A finer grind on the grain might help, though this should likely be done post-cooking to avoid excess water absorption.
- We will experiment with different ferments, such as oat-based garums (see Oat Malt Garum), to approach a more beefy, burger-like flavor.