[livius drusus]

Welp, it took me 4 years but I finally made a genuinely delicious veggie burger. Okay technically it's bean burger and not a veggie burger because I used Worcestershire, but close enough. I eyeballed the bread crumbs based on when the texture looked right like Janet told me to (except I measured them for reproduceability) and I think I added just a hair too much. There was some cracking during the cooking process. Very little, though, and nothing that caused structural damage. Next time I'll knock a tbsp off.

Here is the recipe as I made it tonight.

Black Soybean Burgers

1 can black soybeans, rinsed and drained (I'm sure you can use regular black beans; these are just the ones I had in the house)
2 cremini mushrooms (about 4 oz.), finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
half a red bell pepper, chopped
1 fennel stalk, peeled, finely chopped (I dislike celery, so this is my standard replacement; norms can use celery)
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Worcestershire
1 dash Sriracha
1 egg
about 1 tsp salt
4 tbsp bread crumbs
4 slices pepper jack

Sautee the mushrooms, shallots, pepper, fennel in the olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until the water is released and dries up a little. Add the beans and spices and mash up. Again, cook until the mash dries up a little.

Dump it in a bowl and add the mustard, Worcestershire and Sriracha. Mix it up, taste and adjust for salt and pepper. The soybeans are incredibly bland, way blander than regular black beans, so I ended up adding like a teaspoon before I could even taste it. Add the egg, mix. Add the bread crumbs until the mixture is moist but has structural integrity. Like I said above, next time I think I'll add 3 tbsp instead of 4.

Form into four patties and cook them in a skillet, about 4 or 5 minutes per side. Put a slice of pepper jack on each when there's a minute to go on the second side. Serve on a bun (or sliced bread if you want to go in a patty melt direction) with the condiments of your choosing. I went with ketchup, dill relish and country Dijon. It was stupid good.