seriously awesome black bean burgers with quick pickled red onions recipe
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Serves: 8
 
Ingredients
  • 3 cups cooked black beans or 2 14-ounce cans (Conversion: ½ cup dried beans = 1½ cups cooked beans = 1 14-ounce can)
  • 1 large sweet red pepper, finely chopped*
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • vegetable oil, for cooking ingredients and for cooking final patties
  • 1 teaspoon ancho powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup cashews, raw (roasted fine, but I had raw on hand and like the sweetness)
  • ½ cup Cotija cheese, finely crumbled (feta is fine too, but Cotija is my go-to)
  • 15 Ritz crackers, smashed = ~3/4 cup. Or ¾ c panko. **
  • 2 tablespoons mayo
  • 1 to 2 eggs ***
  • cheese for melting atop patties, if desired
  • hamburger buns
  • condiments (quick pickled red onions, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, flavored mayo, avocado, etc.)
Instructions
  1. Wait! Did you look at the pickled red onion recipe yet? Did you make them for the burgers? DO IT NOW. See below in the Notes section for the recipe.
  2. Cooking your beans or using canned? See below for both (excerpted from my black beans with cilantro oil recipe post):
  3. IF USING DRIED BEANS: Soak beans overnight (or at least 8 hours) covered in 2 inches of water. Drain the next day and immerse in fresh water before cooking. Bring to boil, then simmer for approximately 40 min, or until beans are softened but not mushy. Forgot to soak overnight and have a couple of hours? Quick-soak the beans instead: rinse and cover beans with water (about 4 cups), bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 2 minutes, covered. Remove from burner and allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain, cover with new water, and cook, covered, for another hour, checking tenderness at 45 minutes. And remember: no salt or acid when cooking! Don’t toughen up the beans!
  4. Slightly cool your beans (or open the canned, if using, and rinse if canned), and place on a baking sheet in one layer. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and roast about 20 minutes. The goal is to dry out the beans, evidenced by the popping open of their skins and some crunchiness. (This is an important step to prevent mushy burgers, the bane of black bean burgers.) Allow to cool slightly.
  5. While beans are drying out in the oven, chop your red pepper and onion. In a skillet, heat a few tablespoons of oil at medium-high heat, add dry spices and cook to release fragrance. Add onions and pepper to cook until soft. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Set aside.
  6. Using a food processor, whiz the cashews to make them about the size of ⅓-inch. Add the nuts to the onion-pepper mixture. Don't clean the food processor! You'll use it again in the next step.
  7. Add cooled beans and Cotija cheese to food processor and whiz until beans are about ⅓ of bean in size (per Kenji's instructions). Add to large mixing bowl with the onions, peppers, and nuts.
  8. Gently mix in mayo and panko. STOP! Don't add the egg yet. Taste the mixture. Need salt? Pepper? Add to taste, then add egg. (NOTE: If you don't care about eating raw egg, then IGNORE this attention. Just thinkin' about the pregnant ladies and immunocompromised.) Gently fold all together (use your hands). Form into 8 patties.
  9. TO COOK: Option 1 - grill: Kenji gives great instructions on grilling these burgers. I did not try this, but I totally trust his trials and instructions. Paint the patties with oil and cook 3 to 5 minutes on each side, adding cheese, if you like (see the link above for more complete instructions on grill heat). Option 2 - pan: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil on a cast iron (or similar) pan over medium heat, cooking each patty about 5 minutes (until side is well browned and crisp, then flip and do the same, adding cheese (yes, ADD the CHEESE! DO IT!), if desired. Keep patties warm in a 200 degree F oven while cooking the lot.
  10. Serve immediately with condiments. Quick pickled red onions: THEY ARE THE BOMB. Fat yellow tomatoes -- beautiful. Flavored mayo with chipotle and garlic -- squeeeeeeeeeee. *burp*
  11. Serve with picked onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, smoked paprika mayo, chipotle mayo, whatever you like. I really liked the quick pickled red onions for tang and color. See below in Notes section for the recipe.
  12. NOTES ON FREEZING: Burger mixture can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before forming into patties and cooking. TO FREEZE: Place formed patties on a parchment-lined or plastic wrap covered baking sheet and freeze for about 1 hour. Using plastic wrap or parchment in between each patty, stack frozen burgers and transfer to a zipper-lock freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. TO COOK FROZEN BURGERS: Spread patties in a single layer on a baking sheet and allow to thaw at room temperature for 1 hour before cooking as directed. I have done this a couple of times and it works beautifully.
Notes
* The original recipe calls for chipotle peppers with adobo sauce also (and a poblano for heat instead of the sweet bell pepper). While I liked the chipotle, my final version omits this ingredient. The poblano is great, but my kids don't always want spicy. The chipotle gives a more vinegary, smoky, and deeper flavor, but I wanted to drive up the vinegar with extra pickles (butter pickles and my quick pickled red onions, in the following recipe). ** Panko provides a better texture than the heavier breadcrumbs. The Ritz were okay. *** I felt one egg was fine. If you feel your mixture is really crumbly when trying to form patties, consider another egg. QUICK PICKLED RED ONIONS, because there is no other awesomeness like this ¾ cup white wine vinegar 2 teaspoons sea salt 3 tablespoons maple syrup 1 dried bay leaf 1 anise star a few whole peppercorns 1 red onion, thinly sliced into half moons INSTRUCTIONS: In a saucepan, mix the vinegar, salt, maple syrup, bay leaf, and star anise. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the onion, swirl to immerse, and take pan off the heat. Let the onions cool to room temperature, or transfer into heat-proof container and place in fridge. They last for a couple of weeks in the fridge, if you don't eat them on salads, pizza, or cold fried chicken in the next day. Did I do that? Shamelessly.
Recipe by story of a kitchen at https://www.storyofakitchen.com/vegetable-recipes/seriously-awesome-black-bean-burgers-with-quick-pickled-red-onions-recipe/