"Piehole" in Midwestern means "mouth," as in "Shut your piehole." Preferably we shut it on some tasty home cooking. We love to grow, market, buy, cook, bake and grill so we can feed our faces, chow down, pig out, scarf & whatnot. I'm a born Midwestern home cook posting foods and recipes that show up in front of me, because like all Midwesterners I eat what's put in front of me. Pull up a chair. What can I get you?

Friday, August 29, 2014

Easy Cheap Black Bean Burger Recipe: Homemade is Better

Ow, $4.99 for four Morningstar Farm black bean burgers when you can make five  in five minutes with a $1 can of  black beans and a 79 cent can of chopped green chiles in a blender? Easy, even fun. The cornmeal coating adds crispness. Using chiles means no salt is necessary. Satisfying anytime and good in a bun. In my photo it's on a white corn tortilla and served with salsa.

Easy Black Bean Burgers (makes 5 burgers)

1 can of black beans, undrained
1 can of green chiles, undrained
1 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup cornmeal for dredging
3 to 5 Tablespoons of vegetable oil for frying

Dump beans, chiles, crumbs and beaten egg into a blender; blend until well-mixed. Pulse-blend if you like your burgers to have chunks of bean. If not using a blender, mash the mixture until it's the texture you like.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Place cornmeal on a plate. From the mixture, form 5 firm burgers. (Tip: Wet your hands between forming each burger). Dredge each side of each burger in cornmeal; place in hot oil in the pan. Fry burgers until cornmeal is browned and outside is crisp, about 5 minutes on each side, turning them carefully with a spatula. Remove from pan and serve.