What possessed me to leave nothing but vegetarian dishes until the very end of the Ree Drummond Dinnertime project?? This is the second-to-last recipe left for me to cook, and it’s less than inspiring. Rookie move… This wasn’t my first rodeo, why leave my least favorite stuff for the final recipes of the book?! Lesson learned, next time I am going to hold a couple really good recipes hostage, so that I can’t wait to finish the book instead of crawling toward the finish line!
I am a confirmed carnivore; that has been well-established in these blogs! However, as much as I think everything is better with meat, I can admit when a vegetarian dish comes along that is still pretty darn good. Recipe #136: Black Bean Burgers, is one such meal. This recipe managed to make its way to the end of the book mostly by accident; had I been paying attention, I would have realized that I could have used some of my Black Bean Soup mixture from way back at Recipe #110 as the base for this, instead of starting from scratch when it was time to make burgers. Basically I was pouting because I missed the opportunity to use a shortcut, and I reacted by avoiding it until the last minute! Super mature…
So about these Black Bean Burgers! In the immortal words of the little old Wendy’s lady, “Where’s the beef??” These are missing the, uh, burger part. I was concerned about the lack of meat, but as far as looks go, they sort of fit the bill. The patty was made with black beans (obviously), egg, some seasonings, bread crumbs, and GRATED onion. The grating is super important, because it basically liquifies the onion, leaving no chunky bits. I used a Pampered Chef Microplane grater, but any fine mesh grater will achieve the desired result. When all these ingredients are smooshed together, it kind of looks like you have been playing with… well, never mind. Let’s just say it’s not attractive! But it does hold together like a beef burger, if you can balance the wet and dry ingredients. 
I halved the recipe, but still kept the full quantity of bread crumbs to make it dry enough (then again, I had to use panko instead of regular seasoned crumbs, so that may have had something to do with it!)
The patties eventually came together and cooked up in butter and olive oil on the stovetop for a surprisingly long time, 5 minutes per side. I wouldn’t have thought a meatless meal would take so much time over the fire! I melted some Pepper Jack cheese on top, as I was out of the Swiss cheese the recipe called for, and topped it with mayo, tomato and lettuce, just like a REAL burger. Not bad! My daughter ate it straight, just the bean patty with ketchup on a toasted Kaiser roll. She liked it enough to make the leftovers again the following day, so that’s a win. I’m all about the textures, and for me it was just a little bit off, having no juiciness and a mushier texture than any beef burger I’ve had. I am including McDonald’s, so that’s saying something! Will I make it again? Probably not. Did I finish my meal with some enjoyment, despite a complete lack of cow? Mostly. So you know what, Ree fans? Let’s say this one was a success! Just serve it with a side of pulled pork…
Have Book, Will Cook 