Fantastic Veggie Burger

I've been on sort of a 'meat free' kick lately. By which I mean I watched (another) PETA video and have been re-horrified about the realities of factory farming. At any rate, the other night we were BBQing, and while the bison burgers were awfully tempting, I refrained and ended up making the best veggie burger...EVER.
 

Mushroom & Bulgur Wheat Vegetarian Burgers

 

1/2 cup bulgur
2 eggs, whisked OR equivalent egg replacer*
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 tbsp olive oil
 2 shallots, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups mushrooms (I use crimini and button, generally)
1/4 cup dry white wine (think: Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño or Chardonnay)
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/4 tsp nutmeg
 

 

1. Measure out your bulgur, and put it in a mixing bowl; cover with boiling hot water, about 1C but add more if all the water is absorbed and your bulgur still has that crunchy-ish raw feel
2. Mix together your eggs (or egg replacer), Panko and cilantro.
3. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat, saute garlic until fragrant. Add shallots and cook until tender.
4. Now, add in your chopped mushrooms, wine, and seasonings. Cook this until all liquid has evaporated
5. Mix your mushroom mixture with the bulgur wheat and shape into patties that are about 3/4 of an inch thick. (At this point you can saran wrap your patties and freeze them for later use. They will last up to a month!)
6. Grill up! These bad boys cook best over a medium flame. They will be heated through in 15 minutes-ish. You can saute them too, just make sure you have a little oil in the pan so they don't stick.

*My go to egg replacer is 1T of ground flax seed mixed with 3T water and chilled for several hours in the fridge. It works great! In this case, however, the equivilant of 2 eggs is not enough, so I would go with 4T of flax. Enjoy!