Introduction
Who doesn’t love an umami-filled packet of goodness, otherwise known as a sausage? These Beyond Meat Sun Sausages are hidden gems in your freezer section and, yes, I give them Gold Stars. Here’s
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Faux Meat Evaluation
Visual
These Beyond Meat Sun Sausages look like sausages, inside the package, and outside of the package. The visual texture is a moderate “grind” or mince category – not a fine and compacted style. I prefer that appearance but everyone has their “sausage” preference. I bought the Cajun style so there was a gold-orange-red hue from the yellow pea protein and red flecks, perhaps spices or the diced red peppers. The color darkened with cooking to more of a golden brown with flecks of other colors.
Tactile
Although the sausages in the package appeared wet, the sausages felt firm and not slimy. Nothing weird.
Cooking – how did they hold up?
Per the packaging: You can grill or pan-saute but microwave is not recommended. I didn’t feel like cranking up the outdoor grill, so I opted for the indoor skillet preparation. Caveat: The company recommends thawing beforehand – which I did with a bowl of warm water.
Heat a non-stick pan to medium-high heat, add oil and cook for 10 minutes, turning frequently, until sausages are evenly browned and reach an internal temperature of 165 ̊F.
I followed the skillet preparation with a non-stick skillet and followed the directions to a tee. I’m not always known for that. At the end of 10 minutes, I was rewarded with perfectly browned, sausages with spots of caramelized crispiness on the outside.
Taste and Texture:
The taste is a nice balance of herb and heat spice and would be perfect in red beans and rice or gumbo. The sausages hold their shape when cutting. There is no “weird” or off-putting taste and they paired very well with fermented mustard, Spanish aioli and spicy cilantro Tex Mext sauce, saurkraut and fermented pickles. The texture is chewy, there are some non-meat looking pieces of plants or aromatics, but otherwise, I loved them. The casing was weird – some casings feel pretty plastic or are difficult to cut. These were neither.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE
Ingredients
Water, Yellow Pea Protein*, Avocado Oil, Diced Red Bell Peppers, Brown Rice Protein, Natural Flavors, Dried Onions, 2% or less of Spices (with Paprika, Red Pepper), Methylcellulose, Onion Powder, Potato Starch, Oat Bran, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Vinegar, Faba Bean Protein, Red Lentil Protein, Salt, Oat Fiber, Yeast Extract, Garlic Powder, Sodium Alginate Casing. 21 ingredients with 17 of those for substance and flavor. I didn’t count water, vinegar, salt, casing (which technically is plant-based), and oil.
Most of the ingredients are protein sources and then ingredients for flavoring (herbs, spices, aromatics) and binding agents such as faba bean, oat fiber and bran. People might call this a processed food and yes, it is culinary processed, but certainly not shelf-stable ultra-processed food.
Nutritional expectations
As a reference, my basic requirements for a good meat substitute product are:
>12 grams of Protein
< 9 grams Fat
< 500 grams of Sodium
fiber – any fiber is a bonus points!!!
Beyond Meat Sun Sausages weigh in at:
12 grams or greater of plant-based protein
8 grams of Fat
350 mg of Sodium
1 grams of Fiber
These sausages just come in under the wire, but, they are also “ready to eat” once cooked. They are a nice protein to add to a soup or pot of beans, pasta, or by themselves for a protein boost.
Wrap Up
There are so many great and moderately awesome faux meat products on the market. Generally, my faux meat reviews have been for products that are relative to “bare” meat options such as “beef” crumbles or “chicken” pieces without a specific cuisine slant, but these are exceptional, lower in fat than some other sausages on the market, and who doesn’t love a touch of Cajun every now and then?
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