Weeknight BBQ’d Pork Burgers

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Not pretty, but pretty darn delicious. We were so into the burgers, that we didn’t pose them.

Warning:  the photos you are about to see are of real life and are not posed.  Therefore, excuse the messy burger photos and envision juicy, yummy porky goodness on a huge fluffy bun and proceed with an open mind. <3 Kristina

Today I bring you barbecued pork burgers, with caramelized onions (not pictured), bacon, and watercress. This is an easy weeknight burger- and it is portion controlled- for your enjoyment :) We served it with roasted sweet potatoes and grilled veggie skewers.  This recipe makes 4 nutritionally appropriate burgers or 2 slightly inappropriate (but I won’t judge you) large burgers.

Start with a pound of pork, 1/2 a cup of grated cheese (I used pepper jack), 1/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs, 2 cloves of garlic (minced very tiny, or put them through a garlic press),  1/2 a shallot (also minced), and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard.DSCN3495

Just get it all in a bowl.  I also seasoned the meat with a large pinch each of salt and pepper.  You can mix with a fork or your hands.  Since I was solo-documenting these, I used a fork so that I could hold the camera in my other hand (no wonder these photos suck!!)DSCN3497 DSCN3498

 

To portion the burgers, I used my 1/2 cup measure:DSCN3500 DSCN3501 DSCN3504

Basically it helps to pack the meat and get them all even and beautiful.  Hot tip:  you can form the patties earlier in the day and refrigerate- they will taste even better and hold their shape really nicely, also!  (but it isn’t necessary to do so).

Next, you just grill them (or pan fry) until cooked through.  These are not super huge- so we are looking at about 5 minutes per side or so.  Use best judgement or a thermometer!   They won’t dry out much if they go over- mostly because of the cheese and breadcrumbs in them already.

For toppings:  I made a tomato jam on the fly (no photos of the process)-  I took 1 can of tomato paste, some bourbon (1/4 cup?), some sun dried tomatoes packed in oil (chopped) (2 tablespoons), a glob of honey (maybe 1/4 cup?), a tablespoon of sumac (the middle eastern spice), 1/2 a cup of ketchup, 1 teaspoon of ginger, a dash of onion powder and a dash of garlic powder and simmered until really thick:DSCN3508It came out great-  I will make it again (test and retest!) and share!

We cooked up some bacon; caramelized some onions; and for crunch and freshness we took some watercress and dressed it simply in lemon to cut through the rich sweetness of everything else.DSCN3509

The BBQ sauce was supposed to go on the veg, not the burgers.  Miss communication! Oh well.  Sauce never hurt anything.20140211_195552 DSCN3511 20140211_195557The veggies are simply dressed in olive oil and salt and pepper.  We used mushrooms, onions, peppers, eggplant, and zucchini.

And another shot of Mike’s Plate:  The burger, nearly fully dressed:20140211_201119

Pork Burgers
Author: 
Recipe type: Burger
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • ½ cup grated pepper jack cheese
  • ¼ cup bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ½ shallot, minced
Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mixing with your hands or a fork. Do not over mix. Form into patties and grill for 4-5 minutes per side until cooked through. Serve with your favorite toppings- mine include bacon, something tomato-y with zip (bbq sauce?), caramelized onions, and a crunchy green.

And a well rounded dinner of mostly veg, a HUGE bun (the better to hold condiments!), and some sweet potatoes.20140211_201108

 

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3 Responses to Weeknight BBQ’d Pork Burgers

  1. Charlotte says:

    These look terrific!! I love the idea of that tomato jam.

  2. Hollie says:

    Wow do those look good! Thank you for sharing and glad I stumbled upon your blog!

    • kristina says:

      Thanks- I debated even posting them since we never took any glamour shots- but I think that is a testament to how good they really were! We couldn’t keep our hungry hands off :)

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