We were out and about with friends at the first annual “Lake County Food Truck Frenzy” – and it was a bit of a frenzy, we were there for hours and, between the four of us, only managed to sample stuff from three food trucks – and so, while waiting in line, we would chat; and while trying to decide between the Buffalo chicken or the barbecue ranch poutine (I went with the barbecue ranch), Ruth was reminiscing about these pork burgers that her downstate home town supermarket sold when she was a kid.
“Pork burgers?”
I was intrigued…
so, back at home, I did some research on the interwebs, then made a few changes based on our tastes and my pantry, and came up with this, very tasty, take on your basic burger.
Note: you are gonna want to keep a stack of these in the freezer to enjoy during grilling season. I made ours on the stove top, and they were good. On the grill, I believe they would’ve been fan-frikkin’-tastic.
INGREDIENTS
•5 slices uncured bacon
•1 clove garlic
•1 lb ground pork
•1/2 tsp Kosher salt
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
•Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce (or your own fave hot sauce, to taste)
•Cheese – I used Provolone
Place the bacon slices and the garlic in your food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse until nicely chopped.
Add the salt, pepper, Old Bay Seasoning, and the pork and pulse just until well mixed.
Here’s where you get to make a choice:
We don’t particularly care for hoooge burgers, so I used a 1/4 cup measure and made six patties; cooking four and stashing two in the freezer (to give to Ruth). If you have a larger appetite, by all means divide the mixture into four patties and enjoy.
Anywho; shape your mixture into however many patties, and, with your thumb, make an indentation in the center of each patty. This will help to keep the burgers from puffing up and bulging while cooking.
Heat your grill, or pan, to medium high, then season with additional pepper and add the burgers to the heat.
Cook for about six minutes, until you have a nice crust on the bottom, then flip and cook for another six minutes.
Give each burger a splash of your hot sauce of choice – if you haven’t tried it, I cannot say enough about Cajun Power Spicy Garlic Pepper Sauce. They don’t pay me a thing, but I order this stuff by the case, and it is the only hot sauce I use – then flip the burgers one last time, arrange the cheese on top, remove from the heat, cover, and let rest for about five minutes, until the cheese is nicely melted.
The original recipe I found called for serving the burgers on buttered potato buns topped with coleslaw. I went with lightly toasted brioche rolls spread with mayonnaise, served the coleslaw on the side, and topped my burger with spicy pickled cabbage, mustard, and ketchup.
Good move, and wicked fine burger!