Double Patty Plant-Based Burg’r
Chef Michael Sibert, the chef and owner of Anonymous Burgers, grew up in a family that loves to cook.
"I grew up watching my grandfather cook outside with an open fire. I fell in love with grilling, smoking, and that cooking style," he reminisces. "My mom hosted a lot of intimate parties—bridal showers, birthday parties and so on, so she was always in the kitchen. I got to help her out a lot."
His grandmother was the most pivotal figure in his early culinary journey. Together, they spent numerous hours immersed in the Food Network, absorbing ideas from the chefs on screen.
"It was just me and her sitting in the living room, watching TV and being inspired by everything we saw. We'd recreate dishes we saw," he says. "She was the one who really got me into food and encouraged me to try new things. My grandma is old school and super traditional; many of her dishes were made from scratch. I enjoyed watching her cook, and she taught me a lot."
Sibert and his grandmother were fans of using a rotisserie because it was easy to "set it and forget it," which allowed him to do much of his cooking when he was younger.
Sibert was also heavily influenced by his time at The Culinary Institute of the Carolinas at Greenville Technical College, where he earned his degree. He chose Greenville Technical College over larger institutions like Johnson and Wales or Le Cordon Bleu due to his desire for a more intimate learning environment.
"I was able to work with some awesome chefs there," he says. "I have my chef instructor’s phone number and can text him anytime. We've maintained such a great relationship."
The importance of his mentorship isn't lost on him, inspiring him to periodically return to the school and assist current students.
"I love to go back when they have practicals," he says. "As an experienced chef and business owner, I can coach the kids and say, 'Hey, this tastes good, but you can add some of this and take it to the next level.' It's all about uplifting and teaching them.”
After watching chefs on the Food Network for years, Sibert got to show off his cooking skills on Guy's Grocery Games.
"It was an amazing experience," he says. "Guy gave the most amazing pre-game speech before we even got on set. He was like, a lot of people have been here before you, and when those bright lights come on, I've had chefs that forget their first name. Forget how to sauté, forget how to boil water.' It was intimidating, but he told us, 'I'm here to make you guys look good. There are so many people who want to be here, but you are the four people we chose to be here at this time. So, embrace the moment and enjoy it.'"
The Secret World of Anonymous Burgers
What do burgers, coffee, Jamaican cuisine, sushi, craft beer and pasta dishes with a Cajun flair have in common?
Cartwright Food Hall.
Founded by a group of friends who share a passion for food, family and community, Cartwright Food Hall brings together a diverse line-up of vendors in one location, connected to a common dining area.
"If you know how to Cartwright," Sibert explains, "then you'll know that you stop at Little Leaf Coffee, work your way down to Anonymous and Mo Mo's Sushi, and then walk across the alley to Trade Street Taproom. And if you really know Cartwright, you know how to order certain things from each restaurant and make your own meal. That's what I love to do."
If you're looking for a thick, juicy burger, you won't find it at Anonymous. Here, the thin and crispy smash burger reigns.
And so do conspiracy theories.
A single smash burger is known as an Apollo for the moon landing conspiracies, a double smash is called a Big Brother, and a triple is a Sasquash. Topped with American cheese, duck fat caramelized onions and their top-secret Area 51 sauce—don't forget a side of their signature fries, X-Fries, loaded with cheese sauce and bacon—these aren't your typical fast-food burgers.
"They're not really crazy conspiracies, just fun conspiracies," Sibert explains. "We have a chicken sandwich called 'birds aren't real,” but our chicken sandwich is real. That's how we play into it."
Like all good conspiracy theories, they get more interesting the deeper down the rabbit hole you go. Or, in this case, the deeper down the menu.
"We have a secret menu," Sibert says, laughing. "We're not overly concerned about everybody knowing about it because, you know, my kitchen probably wouldn't like that. But it's the guesswork that gets people talking when somebody comes in and they see another burger and say, 'Wait, what's that? I didn't see that on the menu.'"
The front-of-house staff is well-trained in the secret menu, which can be accessed by scanning a QR code on the menu.
"I really wanted to let people know that it's okay to be a kid and have fun with your food," he explains. "What other things can you add to it to take it to the next level? So, we just have fun."
Another secret that sets Anonymous Burgers apart? The ingredients.
"This may look like fast food, but we're sourcing local ingredients," he says. "That's the beauty of South Carolina: being able to eat what you see right here in front of you. I sleep well at the end of the day, knowing I'm sourcing local ingredients and products and putting good food in people's bellies. When you come here, you'll taste the difference, and that will keep you coming back."
A Better Way to Eat Your Vegetables
The once-sleepy community of Greer has become one of South Carolina's fastest-growing cities, but its historic brick buildings and walkable downtown have helped keep its small-town feel.
"Greer is a small town with big dreams. We get compared to Hallmark town, and you could definitely film a Hallmark movie here," he laughs. "You just want to be here. I love where Greer is headed right now. I love the people here. It's very community oriented. They really get behind you and support you."
With that kind of community support, it's no wonder that he rose to the challenge when Sibert learned there was a desire for a vegetarian option.
"The main thing about serving our community is to give the people what they want," Sibert explains. "So as a chef, I have to accept that challenge, but if I do a veggie burger, I can't put some already done veggie burger on the menu. That's just a frozen hockey puck."
Aside from frozen hockey pucks, when people think of veggie burgers, they think of black beans and flavorless vegetables mashed together and then shaped to resemble burgers. Not on Sibert's watch.
"I decided to use lentils," Sibert says. "I use them as a lentil chorizo and like how they look and feel similar to meat."
But he didn't stop there. The real hero of the burger is the Lion's Mane mushroom.
"Lion's Mane is like a sponge. It absorbs flavor very well. It can really mimic anything you want. It just depends on how you prep it," he explains. "The texture of the lion's mane is meaty; it has a bite to it. It's not like biting into a wilted piece of mushroom or something with no life or body. It springs, bounces back, and feels like you're biting into something."
Lion's mane is often used as a meat substitute because of its firm, slightly chewy texture. It can be sautéed, grilled, roasted or used in soups and stews. Cooking it can be as easy as slicing it and sautéing it with butter or olive oil until golden brown.
"Lion's mane is a very dense, hardy mushroom. So, it's perfect for grilling," explains Jackson Wood, owner of Dark Spore Mushroom Co. "They grow in huge clusters that you can cut into thick slices. Many of our chefs prefer big clusters, whether they're making steaks out of them or just pulling them apart and adding them to the dishes. I like to pull them apart and batter and fry them like chicken wings."
Lion's mane mushrooms are also renowned for its potential health benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties, digestive health support and improved cognitive function.
Located in Piedmont, South Carolina, Dark Spore currently grows around 800 pounds of mushrooms a week, supplying many of the restaurants in the Upstate with blue oysters, pink oysters, golden oysters and lion's mane.
Grown in temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms to create the ideal growing conditions, Dark Spore uses a mixture of wood pellets and soy hulls as its substrate—which is similar to the soil for plants, as this is where the mushroom mycelium will get the nutrition, moisture and energy it needs to grow. From there, the blocks are sterilized for 18 to 24 hours before moving to the lab, where the mushroom spores are added to the bag. The finished block will produce between 3 to 5 pounds of mushrooms.
"Our first flushes, or yield of mushrooms, will be the biggest. Once we harvest them, we leave them another ten days or so, and then we'll have that second flush," explains Wood.
Once the blocks have been harvested for a second time, they are no longer useful to Dark Spore, but thanks to their high nitrogen content, they make great fertilizer.
"The farmer-chef relationship is really important. It requires a lot of communication each week, especially at this volume," says Wood. "It's important to know, hey, what kind of mushrooms do you need this week? Or how often are you going to use these?"
That relationship is crucial when it comes to the chef's plans for using the mushrooms.
"I can reach out to him and pick his brain and find out what different types of mushrooms I can use to really combine different flavors that will go well together," says Sibert. "He has a passion for mushrooms. He even knows how to pick lion's mane for exactly what I'm using it for, or he'll give me ideas on how to prep something depending on when it was harvested."
One thing that has helped Dark Spore's business grow was joining the Certified SC program, a cooperative effort that helps consumers easily identify goods that are grown, harvested or raised right here in the Palmetto State.
"When you walk through a restaurant's doors, and you see the Certified SC sticker, that's a badge of honor," Sibert says. "They're using local South Carolina products. They're supporting my friends. They're supporting my neighbors, they're supporting South Carolina. When you put that story behind the food, it just makes it taste better."
Double Patty Plant-Based Burg’r
“When you think about veggie burgers, you think black beans and mushrooms. We decided to use lion’s mane because of its unmatched flavor profile. It can mimic anything you want; it just depends on how you prep it. The texture is meaty, so it feels like you’re biting into something, not some lifeless vegetable.” – Chef Michael Sibert
Ingredients
Lentil Burger Patty
1 pound green lentils
1/2 red onion, diced
4 ounces red beets, peeled and cooked, diced
5 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup dried vegetable protein (DVP)
1 cup gluten-free flour
Lion's Mane Mushroom Patty
1 pound lion's mane mushroom, whole
8 ounces vegetarian oyster sauce
1 ounce sesame oil
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 ounce coconut oil
Additional Ingredients
preferred burger buns
plant-based burger sauce
lettuce leaves
sliced tomatoes
Instructions
Begin by boiling the garlic and lentils until tender. Once cooked, set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine half of the cooked lentils and garlic with the diced onions and beets.
Mash the remaining lentils using either a mortar and pestle or a food processor. The choice is yours, but using a mortar and pestle can add a more rustic texture to your patties.
Add the mashed lentils to the bowl with the diced vegetables. Then, incorporate the gluten free flour, dried vegetable protein, smoked paprika and kosher salt. Be careful not to overmix; you want to maintain the texture of the ingredients.
Let the lentil mixture chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour. This helps the flavors meld together and makes the mixture easier to handle.
While the lentil mixture is chilling, prepare the lion's mane mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms into 1-inch-thick slices.
In a bowl, combine the vegetarian oyster sauce, sesame oil, coconut oil and smoked paprika. Marinate the mushroom slices for 30 minutes or more in this mixture. Reserve some marinade for glazing later.
Heat a nonstick sauté pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Press each mushroom slice down gently to flatten it, similar to making a smash burger.
Let the mushroom slices cook for 15 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown and crispy. While cooking, glaze the mushroom slices with the reserved marinade.
When the lentil mix is finished chilling, form the lentil mixture into 4-ounce balls. Flatten each ball into a patty shape, like forming a regular burger.
Cook the lentil patties on a grill or stovetop until they are heated through and have a crispy exterior.
Lightly toast the burger buns.
Assemble Your Burg’r
Place a lettuce leaf on the bottom half of each bun, followed by a lentil burger patty, a lion's mane mushroom patty, sliced tomatoes and a drizzle of plant-based burger sauce. Top with the other half of the bun.
Serve your double patty plant-based burg’rs with your favorite side dishes and enjoy a flavorful, satisfying meal!
Chef's Note: Customize your burg’r with additional toppings such as avocado, caramelized onions or pickles for extra flavor and texture.
