The Best Black Bean Burger
Prep
15m
Cook
25m
Total
40m
Bigly says
Listen. We are doing a BLACK BEAN BURGER, and before you click away — STOP. Don't click. Stay. Stay right there. I know what you've eaten. I know what veggie burgers have done to you. They have BETRAYED you. They have shown up to backyard barbecues looking like a hockey puck made of sadness and they have fallen apart on the grill in front of children. CHILDREN. The children saw. The children remember. The whole industry should be issuing a formal apology in writing, signed and notarized. They won't. Cowards.
This burger fixes it. This is the one that converts the skeptics. This is the burger you serve to your brother-in-law who 'doesn't eat that hippie stuff' and he eats two and he doesn't say a word about it being a bean burger, because he doesn't KNOW it's a bean burger, because it's that good. I've seen it happen. Cleveland. A guy named Greg. Big guy, real shoulders on him, the kind of guy who orders steak at a vegan restaurant on principle. He ate THREE. He didn't say a thing. Just nodded. The nod was tremendous. The nod said it all. Greg, wherever you are, I hope you're doing well.
The secret is to dry the beans FIRST. Roast them in the oven. Get the moisture out. Wet beans make wet burgers and wet burgers make sad people and we are not in the business of making sad people — we are in the business of TRIUMPH. We are in the business of beans that hold together, beans that crust up, beans that taste like you actually thought about them. Most chefs are afraid to do this step. They skip it. They get a pile of mush and they blame the bean. Don't blame the bean. The bean is innocent. The bean has been around longer than most countries and it deserves your full effort.
Ingredients
- 2 (15-oz) cansblack beans, drained and rinsed(rinse them well, the can liquid is a CRIME)
- 3/4 cuppanko breadcrumbs
- 1/2yellow onion, finely diced
- 1/2red bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 1large egg
- 1 tbspsoy sauce
- 1 tbsptomato paste
- 1.5 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspchili powder
- 3/4 tspkosher salt
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 4 slicessliced pepper jack or sharp cheddar (optional)
- 4brioche or potato buns, toasted
- as neededavocado, sliced; lettuce; tomato; chipotle mayo (for serving)
Steps
- 1
Preheat the oven to 325F. Spread the drained beans on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake 15 minutes, until the beans look dry and a few have split. Cool 5 minutes.
- 2
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper with a pinch of salt and cook 5-6 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Cool slightly.
- 3
In a large bowl, mash about two-thirds of the dried beans with a fork or potato masher until pasty, leaving the rest whole for texture.
- 4
Add the cooked onion mixture, panko, egg, soy sauce, tomato paste, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Mix until fully combined.
- 5
Divide into 4 equal portions and form firm patties, about 3/4 inch thick. Refrigerate 15 minutes to set (this is the difference between a burger and a pile).
- 6
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook patties 4-5 minutes per side, undisturbed, until a deep crust forms. Add cheese in the last minute to melt if using.
- 7
Build burgers on toasted buns with chipotle mayo, avocado, lettuce, and tomato. Serve immediately.
One more thing
This is the bean burger that ends the bean burger discourse. Permanently. No more arguments. No more 'I don't really do veggie burgers.' Only people asking for the recipe and then, when you give it to them, asking if you can just make it for them instead because they're 'busy.' They're not busy. They just want you to do it. And you should. That's the price of being the best. Everyone wants the best. Even Greg. Especially Greg. Tell your friends.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Best Black Bean Burger.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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