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.
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The Ainsworth’s Better Burger — More Mushroom, Less Meat
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 10 burger patties
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
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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.
