Last night, I bought some Beyond Meat products at the grocery store.
They’re not cheap, and the whole debate about them being healthy is, to me, rather beside the point. I wanted to see how good Beyond could get pea protein to taste.
Four links of Beyond Meat’s Beyond Sausage Brat Original (100 grams each, uncooked) ran me $9. That’s $2.25 per link retail. Each link has 16 grams of protein to 12 grams of fat. (No trans fat, no cholesterol, 500 mg sodium, 5g carbs). 5 grams of that 12 are saturated fats, which is, according to the packaging, 38% less saturated fat than a pork link of the same size.
I grilled up one link, which, as promised, sizzled while it cooked. When it was done, I cut it in half and placed each half on a small Stonefire Nan round and added mustard and half a pickle spear to each round. I ate the finished product like two small nan-wrapped brats.
They were very, very good. I grilled the brat on a Foreman grill, so I could go about my morning while it cooked. It took less than a minute to assemble my nan-brat wraps. It was an efficient, delicious experience.
To try this at home, you’ll need:
- Beyond Meat Sausage Brat Original (one link)
- Stonefire Nan Rounds (2)
- Pickle (1 spear)
- Mustard
(And, for supreme convenience, a George Foreman grill).
If I were making this for lunch or dinner, a side of slaw or kimchi would have been a perfect compliment. At the moment, I’m still hungry, but that’s my fault for being too lazy to fry an egg or two. And yes, I have fried eggs on a Foreman. Once you account for the tilt, it’s a pretty straightforward process.
The bottom line on Beyond brats: If you’re looking for something that tastes like meat but isn’t, this is a pretty great option. Again, I can’t speak to the health side of it, because everyone has different nutritional needs and restrictions. I’ll be finishing my four pack (just not all in one day).
Literary pairing: Animal Farm (because The Jungle is too obvious and pigs really are smart).
Chris Cocca 