I’m going to Tasmania in a week and resolved to not spend any money on takeout food until then. So, naturally, I wanted nothing more than a fried mushroom burger from Betty’s.

Betty’s is basically the Aussie version of Shake Shack. Both of these establishments have a portobello mushroom burger that’s fried and stuffed with melty cheesy goodness.

No, it’s not vegan (sorry) but it’s a nice cheeeeesy vegetarian meal that was surprisingly easy.

I’m downplaying it to a 1-2-3 type of meal, but if you have somewhere around 6/10 attention span and are gonna be at home for a bit, it’s pretty much a breeze.

I: ROAST YOUR MUSHROOM

at 450F (like 220C) for 15 minutes. The goal is to get the moisture out so when you fry these you don’t spark fireworks in your kitchen.

Two caps will becoming one burger.

II: STUFF YOUR MUSHROOM

Take the caps out of the oven, let ’em cool for a second, and then stuff it with cheese. Only need to do half of them, since the remaining caps will be the top half of the burger.

I used a mix of gouda and cheddar, though I’ve seen interpretations of it made with mozzarella. Basically, put your stretchy cheese in the cap and sandwich them together, gills to gills.

III. WRAP YOUR MUSHROOM PATTY

Squish the two caps into each other, getting that cheese in there real good. Then, wrap the whole patty up tight.

*the recommendation is cling wrap. I generally avoid using cling wrap because, ya know, plastic sucks. My plan was to just use tin foil when I realized, there was cling wrap around the the mushroom carton, so I repurposed it for this. #HappyDays

Freeze that puppy for about 15 minutes.

III. BREAD YOUR MUSHROOM PATTY

Remove from freezer.

Egg, flour, and bread. I went ahead and triple breaded it for a nice crust.

IV. FRY YOUR MUSHROOM PATTY

In canola oil until it’s browned on both sides.

V. SERVE YOUR MUSHROOM PATTY

On a bun. On it’s own. With some fries. After pies.

However you like, this will kick that Betty’s Burger (Shake Shack for the Americans) craving and save those AUDolla$ for vacation!!