I was feeling adventurous last week and decided to take another stab at making black bean burgers.  The first attempt wasn’t a major fail, the flavor was good but the consistency didn’t stand up to cooking so there was definitely room for improvement.  To deal with the burger’s crumbly nature i decided to employ the technique of refrigerating the patties for an hour prior to grill time.  The result was a sure win, the burgers held up to the grill heat and I was able to get those pretty grill marks without having them crumble.

Black Bean Burgers
2 16oz cans of black beans drained and rinsed
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro or parsley, chopped
1 poblano pepper, finely diced
1 egg
1 C bread crumbs
cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper

Toppings: Feta, hot sauce & tomato slice

Puree the black beans (reserving 1/4 of them whole) in a food processor with seasoning, and garlic.  Drizzle in some olive oil and a dash of hot water if the mixture is too dry to blend.  Spoon purred bean mixture into a large bowl and add remaining beans, scallions, pepper, and cilantro.  Stir to combine and then add the egg and enough breadcrumbs to give you the right consistency to form patties out of the mixture.  I was able to make 6 medium sized patties but since these are quite filling, in the future I may make the patties into appetizer size which would yield around 8-10.  Refrigerate patties for at least an hour prior to cooking on the grill or stove top.  Add desired toppings and mow away.

With the black bean burgers under my belt I am anxious to try making some veggie burgers since the ones you buy in the store can be up to $6 for a box of four!  I imagine that the same refrigerator technique would apply with these patties but am not sure what to use as the main filler- any suggestions?  I was thinking a combination of purred veggies and grains but any advice would be useful…