chipotle tabasco thick burgers

as i have blogged about before, i am a huge heat-freak. i love spicy food and usually have at least three or four different kinds of hot sauces around. recently, tabasco has come out with a couple new sauces, and i'm totally addicted to the chipotle one. it's not as spicy as the original, but it lends fantastic flavour to these veggie burgers. also, be sure and use short grain brown rice, as it is much stickier - i'm not sure how well these would hold up with the regular long-grain.

• 1 can black beans (15oz)
• 2 tablespoons hickory bbq sauce
• 3 tablespoons chipotle tabasco sauce
• 3/4 tablespoon vegan hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons beets, minced
• 2 teaspoons beet juice
• 1 tablespoon jalapenos, minced
• 1/3 cup oat bran or ground flax
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups cooked short grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

in a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cups uncooked brown rice and 1¾ cups water to a boil. stir once, cover, and turn the heat to low. simmer for approximately 35-40 minuets, keeping an eye on the water level. when finished, pull the rice off the stove and uncover. *note: this will make just a little over 2 cups. i actually measure out 2 cups for the recipe, but you could add it all in, with maybe a dash more liquid.

while rice is cooling, drain black beans and put in a large mixing bowl. mash the beans with a fork or potato masher - they should be mashed well enough to stick together. add rest of ingredients except the rice and wheat gluten. mix thoroughly, and then add the rice and wheat gluten. mix once or twice more, just enough so it's incorporated.

spray a 8x11 casserole dish with non-stick spay. using the mixture, form individual patties and place in dish. the mixture will be wet and may seem like it won't stick together well. if you can't get patties formed, you may need to add some more bread crumbs. try to keep the mixture fairly moist for cooking though.


preferably, place the patties in the refrigerator to set up. you can baste them with bbq sauce or more tabasco if you'd like. it's best to let them chill for at least a half an hour before you bake or grill these.

to grill: if patties are chilled (preferable), first bake patties in casserole dish at 350°f for 10 minutes. then grill on top rack of grill for 15 minutes on medium grill heat. if patties are at room temperature, you can move straight to grilling.

to bake: place casserole dish in the oven and bake at 400°f for 35 minutes, flipping once.