# Egg substitute for binding ingredients together.



## 99Limited (Aug 19, 2014)

I'm not vegetarian and certainly not vegan. Having said that I am stitching my diet away from beef and pork and to a lesser extent poultry and seafood towards vegetarian sources of protein. One of the things I though I'd try is TVP veggie burgers. I've read that ground flax seed can be used as a binder so I can form burger patties. What I'm looking for is egg substitute as a binding agent to be used in savory dishes. Anybody have any experience in this area? What I'm also wondering is, what makes an egg a binding agent? Is it the whole egg or can you use just the egg white?


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## gic (Aug 19, 2014)

Pea powder

http://www.wired.com/2013/12/inside...plant-proteins-to-create-next-gen-super-eggs/


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## knyfeknerd (Aug 19, 2014)

Bob's Red Mill does a vegetarian egg replacer, I'm pretty sure they do an egg white one as well. 
We used it to stabilize our gnocchi.
http://www.bobsredmill.com/vegetarian-egg-replacer.html


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## 99Limited (Aug 19, 2014)

knyfeknerd said:


> Bob's Red Mill does a vegetarian egg replacer, I'm pretty sure they do an egg white one as well.
> We used it to stabilize our gnocchi.
> http://www.bobsredmill.com/vegetarian-egg-replacer.html



Bob's Red Mill, love that company's products. My local grocery carries a lot of their stuff so maybe they'll have it. Thanks for the suggestion.


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## panda (Aug 20, 2014)

this is a good question, is there anything you can create without buying special product?


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## ShaggySean (Aug 20, 2014)

Bulgur works really well it's the binder that hold falafel together


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## ShaggySean (Aug 20, 2014)

I'm pretty sure it is the leithcen which I'd the emulsifying agent in egg yolk that makes it a binder


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## Dusty (Aug 20, 2014)

Shaggysean - its the protein, not the lecithin that makes egg work as a binding agent. That's why you can still use whites as a binding agent. There is protein in both the white and the yolk - albeit more in the white - so whole eggs are fine, I only use just whites if i don't want to add any fat, colour, or richness. Whites are about 50/50 water and protein, yolks about 80/20 fat/protein.

I have a vegetarian wife so I play with this sort of thing a fair bit.

Some starches work well as a binder for burgers, oats are one of my favourite, you can mix the tvp, some oats and something just a little moist to hydrate the oats and they'll hold together, but the mix will need to sit for at least an hour before cooking. 

My favourite veg burger recipe is 1/2 a cup of cooked lentils (i often just used tinned ones), 1/3 rolled oats and about 200gms of pumpkin. Roast and mash the pumpkin, combine everything else add whatever secret herbs and spices you fancy, sit for a little while before forming patties. You could sub the lentils for the tvp if you wanted.

On tvp: So tvp is mostly wheat gluten, with a little soy and is pretty bland. My favourite weird vegie protein is quorn - made from mycoprotein and egg white it adds a little meaty umami to whatever you're making. Tvp is really suited to braises, slow-cooking, etc. I often add some to my mushroom ragu.

Nutmeat burgers could be good - its basically tvp, cooked out with peanuts and canned. It looks like really bad dog food, but is nice grated or brunoised into a wet dish.

I've never tried ground flax seed - if you give it a crack let us know how it goes. 

For a pork loving chef who likes nothing more than making salami and blood puddings, strange vego protein substitutes are kind of my wheelhouse.


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## 99Limited (Aug 20, 2014)

Dusty - These are good suggestions. I keep plenty of Bob's Thick Cut Rolled Oats on hand, which I also eat dry/raw. For the moisture I was going to use canned black beans or lentils. Chick peas might be good too. What I'm looking for is mouth feel. If it's firm when I bite into it like meat, my brain's craving for meat is satisfied. Firm tofu works, along with sauteed mushrooms, so it doesn't have to be too firm to work. 

Off to the grocery....


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## sachem allison (Aug 20, 2014)

99Limited said:


> I'm not vegetarian and certainly not vegan. Having said that I am stitching my diet away from beef and pork and to a lesser extent poultry and seafood towards vegetarian sources of protein. One of the things I though I'd try is TVP veggie burgers. I've read that ground flax seed can be used as a binder so I can form burger patties. What I'm looking for is egg substitute as a binding agent to be used in savory dishes. Anybody have any experience in this area? What I'm also wondering is, what makes an egg a binding agent? Is it the whole egg or can you use just the egg white?



CK14 Roasted Beet and Black bean burger

recipe


5 pounds beets
2 quarts brown rice
2 large yellow onion, diced small
½ pint garlic, minced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
1 #10 can black beans split in two and rinsed
1 pint chick pea flour
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons smoked paprika
¼ cup brown mustard
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground coriander coriander
2 tablespoons dried thyme
Salt and pepper

Day before beet prep
Heat the oven to 400°F. Wrap the beets loosely in aluminum foil and roast until easily pierced with a fork, 50 to 60 minutes. Set aside to cool. Peel and grate the beets with a box grater and squeeze as much juice out as possible. Place beets in a strainer and let sit over night uncovered in the cooler.
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Stir the onions every minute or two, and cook until they are golden and getting charred around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. A few wisps of smoke as you are cooking is ok, but if it seems that the onions are burning, lower the heat. A dark, sticky crust should develop on the bottom of the pan.
Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the cider vinegar and scrape up the dark sticky crust. Continue to simmer until the cider has evaporated and the pan is nearly dry again. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Process the oats in a food processor until they have reduced to a fine flour. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
Drain and rinse the can of beans and transfer the half the beans to the food processor. process until smooth. Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the remaining whole beans, mix well.

The Next day:
Transfer the squeezed beets, cooked rice, and sautéed onions to the bowl with the beans. Sprinkle the olive oil, brown mustard, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, and thyme over the top of the mixture. Mix all the ingredients until combined. Taste the mixture and add salt, pepper, or any additional spices or flavorings to taste. Finally, add the oatmeal flour and chick pea flour.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or transfer the mixture to a refrigerator container, and refrigerate the burger mixture for at least 2 hours or (ideally) overnight. The mix can also be kept refrigerated for up to three days before cooking.
When ready to cook the burgers, first shape them into burgers. Scoop up about a scant cup of the burger mixture and shape it between your palms into a thick patty the size of your hamburger buns. You should end up with 24 large patties.
Too Cook:
Add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil to completely coat the bottom of a saute pan. When you see the oil shimmer a flick of water evaporates on contact, the pan is ready.

Cook the patties for 2 minutes, then flip them to the other side. You should see a nice crust on the cooked side. If any pieces break off when you flip the burgers, just pat them back into place with the spatula. Cook in the oven for 4 -6 more minutes until the patties are warmed through. If you're adding cheese, lay a slice over the burgers in the last minute of cooking.
Serve the veggie burgers on gluten free bread or brioche buns or lightly toasted sandwich bread along with some fresh greens.

Recipe Notes:
 Freezing Burgers: Burgers can be frozen raw or cooked. Wrap each burger individually in plastic or between sheets of parchment paper, and freeze. Raw burgers are best if thawed in the fridge overnight before cooking. Cooked burgers can be reheated in the oven, a toaster oven, or the microwave.


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## 99Limited (Aug 21, 2014)

Thank you SA for the recipe. I think I'll roast enough beets just to have some for dinner too.


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## 99Limited (Aug 21, 2014)

Dusty said:


> ...
> I've never tried ground flax seed - if you give it a crack let us know how it goes.



I couldn't find the online recipe, so I just winged it. Bad idea. I added about 1/3c of flax seed meal to my mixture. The first burger I fried/sauteed and I picked up a slight gelatinous taste that I'm pretty sure was from the flax seed meal. I also tried roasting the burgers in the oven and although the gelatinous taste was minimized, it was still there. I'm not going to give up on the flax seed meal. I just need to figure out the correct proportions.


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