- 850g black beans cooked (2x425g cans no salt added black beans),
- 816g after draining
- 689g after drying in oven
- - 1-2 tbsp sesame oil (for frying patties)
+ - Sesame oil (for frying patties)
+ - For coating patties, mix 3 tbsp sesame oil with 1 tsp toasted
+ sesame oil
or
- 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/2 cup panko flakes
+ - Optional, for grilling or flavor: 4 tbsp tahini
Mix panko flakes and vital wheat gluten together.
+Tahini can be added if you want to make these a *lot* fattier. I leave
+it out when pan frying because I am trying to eat a bit lighter and I
+don't find that it has an earth-shattering effect on flavor. However,
+when grilling the tahini is essential as it also makes the patties
+extremely sticky and robust, and without it they are just slightly too
+crumbly to cook directly on a grate.
+
** Spices
- - 2tbsp olive oil (for sauteing onions)
- - 1/2 large white onion
+ - 1/2 large white or red onion
- 2 Serrano peppers
- 1 habanero pepper
- 1 Sweet bell pepper (red, orange, yellow -- doesn't matter)
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tbsp maras biberi flakes or aleppo pepper flakes
- 3/4 tsp dried ground ginger
+ - 1/2 tsp MSG
+ - 1/2 tsp fine grained sea salt
If you want this to be less spicy, either the habanero or Serrano
peppers can be left out (If I had to choose, I'd drop the Serrano
peppers as I find a habanero pepper complements the sweet bell pepper
more, unless you can get ripe Serrano peppers).
+The MSG really puts these over the edge. Without it, they can be a bit
+"thin" tasting.
+
* Directions
** Prepare Canned Beans
Stolen from [[https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/03/the-best-black-bean-burger-recipe.html][Serious Eats]], canned black beans should be dehydrated a
bit.
- 1. Preheat oven to 350°F
+ 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (convection oven to 325°F)
1. Drain beans, discarding liquid. Don't rinse.
- 1. Spread beans on foil lined baking sheet with sides
+ 1. Spread beans on half sheet pan lined with foil or parchment.
1. Place in oven for ~15 minutes
-If using beans cooked from dry beans, this can probably be skipped?
+I use a convention oven at 325°F and the beans dry a bit more
+consistently than with the convection fan off. The beans usually take
+about 15 minutes to dry on a darkish pan, but I found with a brand new
+(shiny and bright) aluminum pan I had to increase the drying time by
+around five minutes.
-** Sauteed Herbs and Vegetables
+** Prepare Vegetables
1. Dice white onion
1. Dice bell pepper
1. Mince hot peppers and garlic
- 1. Retain half uncooked of onions/peppers/garlic uncooked. Drain
- while sauteing other half.
- 1. Saute onion, peppers, and garlic with olive oil until onions are
- lightly browned
- 1. Squeeze in paper towel after cooled to drain any excess moisture
- and oil. Do the same for the uncooked vegetables (gently).
+ 1. Separately wrap onions and bell pepper in paper towels and gently
+ squeeze to drain some excess moisture. Too much moisture from the
+ bell pepper especially can make the burgers a bit soggy.
+
+Since these are just getting mashed into a patty and don't need to be
+pretty, I just run the onions and bell pepper through a few pulses in
+a food chopper.
** Combine!
to help diffuse the spices more consistently).
1. Mash beans to desired consistency in a mixing bowl. Mostly paste
with some partially mashed beans is good.
- 1. Mix in garlic, peppers, and onions
- 1. Mix in binder
-
-Grab a ball of the mixture and form into a patty. It should be almost
-as robust as a murder burger so should be able to handle being
-squished into whatever shape by hand.
+ 1. Mix in minced garlic and hot peppers
+ 1. Mix in onions
+ 1. Mix in bell pepper
+ 1. Mix in panko/gluten binder
+ 1. If using tahini, mix in last
+
+Grab a ball of the mixture and form into a patty, making sure to work
+it a bit (which I think makes the gluten link into strands and binds
+things together better). It should be almost as robust as a murder
+burger so should be able to handle being squished into whatever shape
+by hand.
** Cook
- 1. Pan fry over medium-high heat for ~4 minutes per side (until
- outside is browned and a bit crispy). Cooking spray or oil will be
- needed to keep it from burning. Brushing the burgers with sesame
- oil works well (one side at a time, just before putting into pan
- and just before flipping).
+*** Pan Frying
+
+ 1. Preheat pan with a couple tablespoons of sesame oil
+ 1. Brush one side of patty with sesame oil + toasted sesame oil
+ mixture
+ 1. Placing oiled side down, pan fry over medium-high heat for ~3
+ minutes.
+ 1. Oil top of patty, flip, pan fry additional three minutes
+ 1. Flip patty, add more oil to pan (1Tbsp should be enough), reduce
+ heat to low, cover. Cook two minutes per side.
+
+*** Grilling
-* TODO
+It is important to make these with tahini when grilling.
-Increased onion and garlic, not sure if more dry spices are also
-needed.
+ 1. Build decent charcoal fire
+ 1. Brush one side of patty with sesame oil + toasted sesame oil
+ mixture
+ 1. Brush grate with vegetable oil
+ 1. Placing oiled side down on grate, cover grill (with vents open, to
+ keep high heat) and cook for two minutes
+ 1. Oil top side of patty, flip, cook additional two minutes covered
+ 1. Flip patty, cook additional two minutes per side covered
-At least needs more cumin... taste is a bit "empty". Thinking that
-cumin should be doubled. Maybe add some ground pistachios or even a
-bit of tahina as well.
+Internal temp should hit around 180°F and the patty should develop a
+nice char.