Cooking: Update black bean burger recipe to latest

Months of tweaks are done, publish new and improved recipe

Work log:

Increased onion and garlic, not sure if more dry spices are also
needed.

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 tahini as well.

** 2020-01-19ish

 - Add 4 tbsp tahini
 - One bell pepper
 - One medium yellow onion instead of white onion
 - 1/4 tsp MSG
 - 1/4 tsp fine grained sea salt

Post-mortem: Tahini made this VERY sticky, I think it's the key to
survival on the grill in the future. MSG seemed to make this
distinctly better. Tahini adds a ton of calories and saturated fat, so
try with just msg next time. sauteed yellow onion instead of using
half of a fresh white onion was probably a waste of time. Split beans
onto two pans to dry out in an attempt to make it more even... just
ended up drying them out excessively. Maybe try convection and
lowering the temp a bit next time.

Suggestions for next batch:

 - no tahini
 - just use fresh white onion and skip sauteeing
 - use convect convert mode on oven while drying beans, in a single
   tray.

** 2020-02-26

 - 1/4 tsp MSG
 - 1/4 tsp fine grained sea salt

no tahini, did not sautee onion or garlic.

msg seems to do the trick here: the "thinness" these had before is
gone, even without added tahini.

** 2020-03-11

 - 1/4 tsp MSG
 - 1/4 tsp fine grained sea salt

no tahini, did not sautee onion or garlic.

tried cooking two:

 - one medium high, two minutes per side
 - on low with lid over pan, two minutes per side

internal temp was 155 in the end, not quite as good as just doing 4
min per side.

try three minutes on medium-high instead for the next two, and maybe
add a lot more oil if that isn't enough.

isot pepper for char? the crappy stuff might work to make it more
char-ey.

** 2020-03-14

Finally grilled these. Used tahini (essential), coated grate and
burgers with oil.

Cook for eight minutes, two minutes per side at a time. They came out
perfect.

diff --git a/Black Bean Burgers.muse b/Black Bean Burgers.muse
index d6837bd..c3c874e 100644 (file)
--- a/Black Bean Burgers.muse
+++ b/Black Bean Burgers.muse
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ one unit of bean patty mixture.
  - 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
 
@@ -21,13 +23,20 @@ Makes six to eight patties.
 
  - 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)
@@ -35,12 +44,17 @@ Mix panko flakes and vital wheat gluten together.
  - 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
@@ -48,24 +62,29 @@ more, unless you can get ripe Serrano peppers).
 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!
 
@@ -73,26 +92,43 @@ If using beans cooked from dry beans, this can probably be skipped?
     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.