Black Bean Burger

Method

1. roast10 min
   350°F, beans spread on a sheet — the anti-mush step
   the rinsed beans in one layer until their skins split and the surfaces look dry and leathery — canned beans are waterlogged, and this ten minutes of oven-drying is the difference between a patty and a paste; it is the step every failed bean burger skipped
2. mash4 min
   two-thirds mashed, one-third left whole
   the dried beans + onion + garlic + chipotle + cumin + salt, mashed to a coarse mix with real bean halves visible — the whole beans are the texture; a food processor takes this to hummus in three pulses, which is why a fork or masher is the specified tool
3. mix3 min
   eggs + crumbs folded in, then CHILLED 15
   bound and rested in the cold — the crumbs hydrate and the patties firm from sticky to shapeable; formed into four thick patties after the chill, not before
4. sear8 min
   medium, oiled pan, 4 min a side, flipped ONCE gently
   until deeply crusted on both faces, cheese on for the last minute — the crust is where a bean burger earns its keep, and one confident flip with a real spatula beats three nervous ones; these patties reward patience and punish fiddling exactly like the mush they refuse to be
5. top3 min
   built on toasted buns
   chipotle mayo, patty, avocado, pickled red onions — the acid-and-cream pairing that black beans have wanted forever; built this way it argues with no one about what it isn't and wins on what it is