Sapsuckers – Iconic Bean Burgers
Bean burgers overwhelmingly took over the food industry. And of course all the restaurants and supermarket started carrying a version of a bean burger. It wasn’t until I tasted the bean burger in a small restaurant called Sapsuckers in Huntington, New York, that I was convinced bean burgers reserved their own spot in my menu. They don’t need to compete, fight for superiority, or mimic other burgers; bean burgers are iconic and tasty!
Why make your own bean burger?
Even though the supermarkets have plenty of variations and assortments of pre-packaged, frozen, ready to eat bean burgers – I tent to avoid buying them. The list of ingredients and additives are longer then one has patience to read and sodium content is extremely high. Of course there are better ones that don’t have too many harmful additives, but they don’t feel wholesome. In another words, they look processed.
They are also very easy and fun to make.
Are these bean burgers healthy?
In addition to protein, bean burgers are a good source of fiber that most of us need in our diets and meat-based burgers lack. They also provide the daily required amount of magnesium and potassium.
Making these bean burgers at home, you can also control the amount of salt and type of fat you want to use.
How to make the burgers?
If you have time, you can pre-soak and cook your own beans. I have also used the canned beans with successful results. I usually use black beans, but any other type can also be used.
When choosing dry beans, you need to take into account the pre-soaking and cooking time.
Roasting vegetables: Roasted vegetables give the smoky flavor and also add to the body of the patties.
Baking the pre-cooked beans: Baking the pre-cooked beans drowns the moisture from the beans and makes them less mushy. Also the baking process gives a little bit of nuttiness to the burgers.
Spices: Using cumin and ground coriander give a nice southwestern flavor to the burgers. Depending how spicy you like your food, you can add different chili powders and paprika.
Oats: I am using oats for this recipe. Oats combined with bean provide the necessary complete protein. The also act like a binding agent.
You can choose to add an egg white to bind the mixture. And there are vegan and gluten-free options like flax-seed meal, chia seeds and xantham.
Can you made the patties ahead of time?
The patties can be refrigerated for 3-5 days and also freeze well for 2 months.
More Recipes From Cafe Osharak
Sapsuckers – Iconic Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 2 canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 8 oz mushrooms cremini baby portobello, button, shitaki
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup cilantro loosely packed
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- Vegetable oil for cooking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Prepare two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Place mushrooms and onion and peppers on one – drizzle with olive oil, toss and season with salt and pepper.8 oz mushrooms cremini, 1/2 red onion, 1 bell pepper, 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- On another baking sheet place the drained cooked beans in an even layer and sprinkle the oats on top.2 canned black beans, 1/2 cup rolled oats
- Place both trays into the oven.
- Bake the beans until they start to pop and split for about 10 minutes.
- Roast the mushrooms and onions for another 10 minutes until soft and browned.
- In a food processor pulse the mushrooms, onion, pepper, and cilantro until chopped and combined. Add smoked paprika, chili powder, coriander seeds, and cumin and scoop half of the oats and beans into the processor, and pulse for 10-15 seconds until everything is well combined. Add the salt.Freshly ground black pepper, 1/4 cup cilantro, 2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, Kosher salt
- Add the rest of the oats and beans and pulse again. If you want to have some chunkiness, don’t blend too much and make sure you have some visible beans left.
- Revert the mixture on one of the parchment papers and flatten it.
- Form 6 patties now, or you can store the mixture in the refrigerator until later use.
- Heat the large skillet over medium heat, coat it with the oil and place the burgers in the skillet.Vegetable oil
- Cook until outside is crisp and golden, and inside is heated through, about 4 minutes per side.
