Thread: Can you design a good Insect burger?

Futurists speculate that insects might well be the food of the future.

Consider-
They are nutritious- high in protein, low in fat
They are cheap to harvest, and plentiful.
Their fast breeding cycle means they are a renewable resource.
They only require a fraction of the earths dwindling resources as a protein source, compared to animal flesh.
The human race is facing overpopulation issues (more food thus required), and climate change (insects are much more hardy to climate change than warm blooded animals).
It is doubtful we can continue plundering the animal resources of the sea and land indefinitely, and destroying ecosystems to do so.

So, the trick is how do you sell this highly practical source of nourishment to Joe Public? I've met Joe's that don't even like to eat shrimp with the head still on, never mind whole fish. They don't like the eyes looking back at them. Everything must be made to appear nothing like the beast from which it originated. And, of course, it must be tasty.

Nevertheless, change is a given- thirty years ago, potato skins were usually considered pig food.


Here's my recipe for what I reckon would be a decent grasshopper burger-

THE BLACKPEPPER HOPPERBURGER

Grind up some deep fried grasshoppers (not too fine),
mix with some Black pepper sauce
Stir in cornflour, until the mix becomes of a consistency to form patties
BBQ or panfry until browned on the outside

Serve in a lightly toasted hamburger bun, with thinly sliced raw onions and lettuce.
Mayonnaise- optional

That sounds OK, although a Cajun Hopperburger might be pretty good too.

Any better ideas?

Heres my promise- if you can come up with a better sounding recipe, I will try it- with photoes to prove it. If not, I'll try my recipe as above, and see how it goes.

Originally Posted by sabang

Stir in cornflour, until the mix becomes of a consistency to form patties

i think herein lies your problem,

they aint gonna give a good consistency if u grind them, you'll end up with grasshoppper flavoured cornflour burgers (with legs in it)

Yeh, getting the patties the right consistency might be a problem. I'll see if mrs has any ideas. Or Timba?

Hmm
Howabout dicing the hoppers ... remove the legs and adding diced onion and grated carrot into the mix with a little finely sliced chilli and basil (bai horahpah)

That should give it a better texture and a nice mixture of flavours.

I would try one.

Mark

^ A little grated carrot might just do the trick Mark. Good idea.
Can't be arsed removing the legs though- thats protein too!

Heres a new thought- some of that sage stuffing you can get in a packet.

Originally Posted by sabang

Any better ideas?

It would be near impossible to come up with a worse idea!