How to cook a grubs burger
Today we offered a London bug restaurant cooking experience to the BBC. We showed our guest how to cook a bug burger and some chocolate and mealworm cakes. The filming was part of a program for BBC World BBC Africa What’s new explaining to a young audience that eating insects is nothing new. In many part of the World edible insects are in fact considered the basis for a healthy and delicious diet. A special thank you to journalist and presenter Ben Hunte for helping us concoct a fabulous insect burger!… but, did he like it? Of course he did !
Grubs burger recipe and cooking instructions
Our grub of choice for this delicious insect burger is edible mealworms, however, you can substitute the mealworms with dried edible cricket, and the recipe will work just as well.
Edible insects burger ingredients (makes 2 burgers)
- 4 tablespoons dried crickets (approx. 20g)
- 2 heaped tablespoons tinned black beans or adzuki beans
- 2 heaped tablespoons tinned chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons sage and onion stuffing mix (eg. Paxo)
- 1/4 small red onion
- 1/4 red pepper
- 8 strands fresh coriander (or parsley if preferred)
- 1 egg
- 2 heaped tablespoons chickpea flour (Graham flour)
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoning (like Schwartz Season All)
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil (optional)
- 1 pinch of salt (optional) depending on whether the seasoning used contains salt)
- 1 pinch paprika (optional)
- You may also want – burger buns, cheese slices, tomato, lettuce, sauces, pickles
Preparation method (with or without food processor)
- Make sure the beans and chickpeas are well drained by leaving them in a strainer for 10-15 minutes
- If a food processor is available, lightly crush the dried edible insects, taking care of not reducing them into a powder. Alternatively, crush the insects in a clean cloth using a rolling pin or empty glass bottle. Set aside.
- Blend together in the food processor, black beans, chickpeas, onion, pepper, coriander. The result should not be a paste, but a rather coarse mixture. If a food processor in not available, beans and chickpeas can be mashed with a fork and onion, pepper, coriander, finely chopped.
- Add to the bean mixture the crushed edible insects, stuffing mix, chickpea flour, seasoning, and optionally, coconut oil, salt and paprika; mix well.
- Beat the egg and add to the bean mixture a bit at a time, until the burger is of the desired consistency. A good test is to lift a burger size amount onto a fork, until the mixture doesn’t fall off it.
Cooking instructions
Spray cooking oil in a baking tray. Form each burger into a round patty, firmly pressing the mixture together so that it does not fall apart. Cook in the oven for 10m at 220C on each side. To prevent the burger from crumbling when turning it, we suggest using 2 turners/spatulas. The patty can be lifted onto on, flipped onto the other, before being laid again in the baking tray.
Add cheese slices and cook for 1 minute or so, until melted.
Final considerations – mastering your bug burger
Mastering the perfect edible insect burger comes with a bit of practice. If the burger is too soggy at your first attempt, try adding a bit more chickpea flour and egg next time. You can also experiment with different combinations of pulses and herbs. Finally you can also try cooking them in a pan rather than the oven.