By Ashlyn Frassinelli
Plant-based meats may be getting increasingly indistinguishable from animal meats, but there are still some key differences in flavor, handling, and preparation. Though working with these alternative meats at home can seem difficult, as long as you know the basics, it’s easy to whip up a plant-based meat feast in your own kitchen that rivals a dish at your local vegetarian restaurant.
Cooking methods with big, bold flavors are the key to cooking plant-based meats, as these ingredients tend to be able to take in a lot more flavor than they give off. Braising plant-based meats such as Impossible Foods or Beyond Burger goes a long way in ensuring the final product is tender, and allows the braising liquid to seep into the meat and provide additional flavor.
Just be careful: Plant meat doesn’t cook the exact same way as animal meat, and since there’s less fat to render off, the meat can get dry and burnt quickly. To prevent this, cook the meat and the braising sauce separately, then add the meat back in right at the end. This way, you’ll avoid overdoing your dinner.
Shorter cook times for maximum success
Plant-based meats tend to cook much more quickly than animal meats. When you cook an Impossible Burger, it takes about two minutes per side; compare that with a beef burger, which cooks three to four on each side for medium doneness. Due to this, adapting recipes requires some timing adjustment to prevent your meat from burning, drying out, or otherwise degrading the texture.
While braising can help prevent dryness, overcooking should still be avoided — so brown your meat and cook your braising sauce separately. You can brown plant-based meat the same way you would brown any meat, using oil and heat in a pan. Set the meat aside once it’s cooked and work on your braising sauce. Let the sauce flavors coalesce and the liquid thicken, then a few minutes before finishing, add the browned meat and simmer. The result will have a much more appealing texture than cooking the meat down into mush.
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