I'd like my fake meat bloody, please.

August 1, 2010 12:34 PM

Almost all meat substitutes that I've encountered simulate well-done meat or fish. Are there any vegan/vegetarian recipes to simulate raw/extremely rare meats and fish?

I'm trying to increase my use of vegetarian food in my diet. My weakness is undercooked meat/fish. I love steak tartare, extremely rare steak/burgers, and sushi. I'm looking for recipes that accurately capture those tastes and textures.

posted by Deathalicious to Food & Drink (18 answers total)

I'm curious what the responses will be to this question. While I'm not vegetarian, I've eaten (and enjoyed) a lot of the meat substitutes out there. My experience has always been that the more processed the meat product, the easier it is to imitate (e.g. fake chicken nuggets are almost indistinguishable from chicken nuggets). But "real" meat products? Not even close.
posted by swngnmonk at 12:49 PM on August 1, 2010

Best answer: The closest I think I've come is really specifically prepared squash or eggplant, or good old tofu (grilled). I also tend to think that vegetarian rolls have most of the texture of regular sushi rolls, if you close your eyes and don't think about it. I'm interested to see what other suggestions come up though!
posted by ista at 12:52 PM on August 1, 2010

Good bruschetta is a amazing. It's amazing on it's own terms, and it has some of the savory umame deliciousness and juicyness of good rare meat or sushi. It's not so much an imitation as a delicious alternative.
posted by ladypants at 1:00 PM on August 1, 2010

Best answer: On Future Food they made seared tuna out of watermelon. All you need is a watermelon, a Cryovac, and liquid nitrogen.
posted by LolaGeek at 1:20 PM on August 1, 2010 [5 favorites]

Grilled vegetables are the way to go, I think, to capture the raw meat experience. Portobella mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, etc.
posted by belau at 1:38 PM on August 1, 2010

Best answer: Diced caramelized mushrooms are kinda like tender meat... if you haven't eaten meat in a really long time.

Honestly I think a lot of satisfaction in a less-meat-atarian diet comes from forgetting "meat substitutes" because they're not going to be like meat. Enjoy veggies, don't be sad at your veggies for not being meat.
posted by fontophilic at 1:45 PM on August 1, 2010 [3 favorites]

Best answer: In line with ista, I was going to suggest a recipe I found recently for zucchini carpaccio. Still, I doubt this will result in a flavor that specifically resembles rare meat.

I've always found sauteed mushrooms, especially shiitake mushrooms, to have a particularly meaty taste and mouthfeel.

Botttom line, though, is that nothing tastes like rare meat but meat. Most vegetarians don't try to closely mimic the taste and texture of real meat. Your question is sort of like asking "what tastes exactly like zucchini but is made of dairy products?"
posted by Sara C. at 1:47 PM on August 1, 2010 [2 favorites]

Honestly I think a lot of satisfaction in a less-meat-atarian diet comes from forgetting "meat substitutes" because they're not going to be like meat. Enjoy veggies, don't be sad at your veggies for not being meat.

Agreed. I'm a vegetarian and I can enjoy fake meat mostly because I've forgotten what the real thing tastes like. If you still eat real bacon, though, the fake stuff isn't going to cut it.
posted by something something at 1:48 PM on August 1, 2010

Halloumi cheese is something that I find has a texture consistent with grilled chicken? It's got that squeaky, juicy texture if you grill it really hot but not for too long.
posted by stackhaus23 at 3:31 PM on August 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: There is a Lebanese restaurant that I used to frequent that had an excellent vegetarian "raw kibbi". It is spectacularly good and has the exact texture of raw lamb kibbi. I cannot find a recipe on line for a raw vegetarian kibbi--If I can find one I will send it to you or I will ask when I am there. Of course,this only works if you are attracted to raw kibbi. Wait, here is a brief description from a restaurant in Belmont Shire Ca (2000) miles from here.
" VEGETARIAN KIBBI   2.99
A mixture of bulgar (crushed wheat), tomato, onion, herbs and
spices, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Served with pita"
posted by rmhsinc at 4:24 PM on August 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: As the person who, while vegetarian, insisted on grilling all the meat at barbecues so it was done properly, I agree with what swngnmonk said. Meat substitutes are best* for imitating overprocessed or overcooked meat. Not delicate meats with refined textures or flavors. Besides, most fake meat is not particularly healthy, laden with salt, highly processed. There are particular issues with phytic acids (which causes problems with nutrient absorbtion) and phytoestrogen (which can cause thyroid problems) in soy protein isolate. If you're just looking to be more vegetarian, not totally vegetarian, continue eating the occasional beef tartare and sashimi.

*I said best, not good, because I think fake meat is generally abhorrent, especially when so many sublime things can be made with vegetables, grains, and eggs. Tofu and seitan are much more pleasant when used for themselves, instead of pretend meat.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:10 PM on August 1, 2010

Response by poster: Of course,this only works if you are attracted to raw kibbi

Absolutely.

Actually, part of what inspired this was remembering kitfo, sort of the Ethiopian equivalent of kibbi, and wishing that I could get my hands on a vegetarian recipe for it.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:16 PM on August 1, 2010

Yeah, as a meat eater who likes sushi and medium rare steak, and is married to a vegetarian, you're not going to find anything like this. I find that the best vegetarian food is what's been done to bring out its own flavors and not to be a pale comparison for meat. For instance vegetarian sushi is delicious for totally different reasons than traditional sushi is; tempura sweet potato or avacado rolls or similar things are delicious in and of themselves but none has the sublime and delicate taste of a piece of uncooked fish prepared well.

Chik patties are the best meat substitute food, because there's no real reason for over-processed chicken to contain meat in the first place. But delicate flavors in vegetarian cooking are rare (since tofu and seitan are kinda bland in themselves) and when they happen are totally different than in meat cooking.
posted by graymouser at 8:20 PM on August 1, 2010

Seconding Quorn. I like their chunks a lot for making chicken pot pie, and whereas there's nothing appealing about raw chicken to me, Quorn certainly is moist and tender with the convincingly ...stringy? texture of chicken breast.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:31 AM on August 2, 2010

Best answer: I once had a veggie burger at a restaurant called Houston's. I believe they made it out of rice and other grains, but the kicker was that they used beet juice for coloring. When I received it and cut it in half, I seriously thought (from the look of it) that they made a mistake and gave me a real burger, medium rare. The beet juice was running out and looked like half-cooked blood. It was amazing. This was 10 years ago so I don't know if they still have it on their menu, or if they still make it the same way. But you could experiment with grains and mashed tofu to get the texture of ground beef, and then use beet juice to color!
posted by buckaroo_benzai at 9:44 AM on August 2, 2010

I like making my own seitan. I recently made a batch of this BBQ seitan, and I thought the texture was remarkably meat-like. Of course, I haven't eaten meat in years, so YMMV.
posted by acridrabbit at 12:33 PM on August 2, 2010

Response by poster: Seitan is absolutely meatlike but resembles well done meat, not rare. Although I suppose with the right ingredients you might be able to come up with something.
posted by Deathalicious at 4:43 PM on August 3, 2010

I thought of this thread when I came across this recipe for beet burgers. I've not personally made or tasted these, but the photos sure look like raw bloody ground meat.
posted by fontophilic at 7:09 PM on September 24, 2010