Burger Time

We thought it would be fun to see how many different burgers we can come up with over the summer grilling season. And since we've decided to try to come up with one original (at least to us) burger a week, I thought it should not be limited to only beef. This week's original burger is none other than the Hawaiian Burger. My friends can tell you that this one was difficult for me. I wanted it to be authentic, but never realized what a melting pot Hawaii is. And for the record, this was not going to turn into a SPAM burger.

(Am I the only one that thought the whole SPAM / Hawaii thing was all made up? Who knew!)

I decided on 90/10 ground pork. To the (almost 2 lbs) ground pork I added:

a little teriyaki (about 2 T)

pineapple juice (about 1/8 cup)

chopped spring onions (about a small handful)

green onions (about 1/4 cup)

beaten egg

S & P

*this will yield a very, very soft patty. If you don't cook it on a lower heat it will blacken from the fruit juice. You can easily leave the juice out.

I made the patties a few hours before grilling so the flavors could "meddle".....like your neighbors!

For the buns, I made a quick sauce that was fabulously full of flavor and could easily be used as a base for other burger sauces as well.

I mixed together equal mayo and sour cream (about 1/3 cup each) then added:

horseradish (about 1 1/2 T)

soy (about 1 T)

papaya, chopped then mashed with fork (up to you)

pineapple, chopped then mashed with fork (up to you)

fresh parsley (about 1/8 cup)

pepper (to taste)

I grilled up a bunch of pineapple slices that were not thick enough. Next time I would use much thicker slices and skip the juice in the patties.

I stole a move from Giada and drizzled some olive oil on the buns then spread a little of the sauce on them before grilling them. They came off the grill so beautifully golden and crisp. I hope I remember to this from now on! I finished it off with a bed of fresh baby spinach and it was time to EAT!

On a scale of 1-10, 2nd M gave it a 6. R gave it a 7 and I gave it an 8. Even with the low score of 6, she still asked for it to be her lunch the next day so it couldn't have been too mediocre!

I loved it and would gladly attempt it again. Now, to come up with next week's burger idea.....