The Ainsworth restaurant recreates their burger to included delicious cremini mushrooms and a touch less meat.
The Ainsworth restaurant teamed up with the James Beard Foundation to participate in the Better Burger Project. 
Rather than go totally veggie, the chefs at The Ainsworth wanted to bring their meat-lovers a truly delicious patty, but with a touch less beef. Removing a quarter of the burger, the restaurant added a mushroom duxelle to reduce its usual carbon footprint, fat, and sodium levels. Plus, The Ainsworth’s burger reinvented adds more nutrients to the stack like vitamins B and D.
Give this smaller burger topped with a cremini patty and an onion ring a go the next time you are craving some classic comfort food.
Print
The Ainsworth’s Better Burger — More Mushroom, Less Meat
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 10 burger patties 1x
Description
The Ainsworth restaurant recreates their burger to included delicious cremini mushrooms and a touch less meat.
Ingredients
For the mushroom duxelle:
- 500 g (17 1/2 oz) crimini mushrooms, minced
- 20 g marinade
- 4 lb (1.8 kg) of burger
- 100 g (3 1/2 oz) panko
- 100 g (3/4 cup) ap flour
For the onion ring:
- Use only perfect white onions the size of the burgers, use the other parts for various kitchen task/recipes. Zero waste.
- 250 g (2 cups) cake flour
- 30 g (3 1/2 tbsp) corn starch
- 15 g (1 tbsp) baking powder
- Soda water
Instructions
For the mushroom duxelle:
- Sweat out ingredients for 5 minutes on medium heat until tender. Season towards end. Cool down and drain excess water.
- After it has cooled, add the mushroom duxelle mix to the burger patties.
- Form and cook to desired doneness.
Onion ring
- Combine everything but the onion to make a batter.
- Coat rings in batter.
- Fry once at 350 degrees. Then before serving, fry at 375 degrees.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger
- Calories: 560
If You Liked This Recipe, You’ll Love These
- Mouth-Watering Portobello Mushroom Burgers
- Sean Brock’s Perfect Burger
- Katsu Fried Chicken and Rice Burger
- Velvety Cream of Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mushroom duxelle and why does it work as a partial beef replacement?
A duxelle is finely minced mushrooms sweated down until most of their moisture cooks off, resulting in a concentrated, meaty paste. The Ainsworth’s version uses 500 g (17½ oz) of minced cremini mushrooms, sweated for 5 minutes on medium heat until tender. Replacing roughly a quarter of the 4 lb (1.8 kg) beef with this mixture reduces the burger’s fat, sodium, and carbon footprint while adding vitamins B and D, according to the article’s James Beard Foundation Better Burger Project brief.
Why are the onion rings fried twice at two different temperatures?
The recipe instructs a first fry at 350°F to cook the batter through, followed by a second fry at 375°F just before serving to crisp and brown the outside. This two-stage method — a technique used in many restaurant kitchens — allows the rings to be pre-cooked in advance and then finished quickly to order for maximum crunch.
