America’s Test Kitchen has a huge archive of great, tried-and-true recipes, and they often cherry-pick them for specialty cookbooks. Usually these books are smart and helpful, but this one does something different. Yes, the answer is in its title, but the ATK team being the ATK team, the book formalizes their and our relationship with plant-based meat. The focus is on getting us to use it the same way we would for ground beef or pork; The art on the front and back of the book includes photos of meat-lover classics like a burger, chili, tacos, pizza, banh mi, and lettuce wraps.
Two things I appreciated were basics about plant-based meat that I hadn’t yet internalized: You should cook it undercooked, especially for burgers, as the texture is best when cooked at about 130-135 degrees ( you are alone). after that). And you can garnish it just like real ground beef. For example, I made a chorizo seasoning to mix with the Impossible Burger for some excellent tacos with potatoes and salsa verde. Change the herbs and spices and create meatballs, breakfast sausage and sweet Italian sausage. These are not innovative recipes, but repertoire builders who normalize an ingredient that is relatively new to us all. can i get an amen One note: You’ll want to experiment to find your favorite brand of meat. I find Impossible Burger, ATK’s favorite, to be solid across the board, but Beyond Beef, the runner-up, isn’t my thing, so shop around, taste, and make sure you’re cooking with one you like.
(Bonus: For more earth-friendly barbecue, check out Argentinian chef Francis Mallmann Green Fire.)