HAWAIIAN BURGERS
MAKES 8
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pineapple
- ½ medium yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon Hawaiian-style teriyaki sauce, plus more, to serve
- 1 large egg
- 1 pound ground pork
- 8 rashers of bacon
- Butter lettuce, to serve
- Tomato slices, to serve
- 4 buns (preferably Hawaiian-style or sweet onion)
- Salt and pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: Assemble your ingredients and preheat your grill to medium.
STEP 2: Prep the pineapple. You’re not using it right away, but since you’re only using a portion of it, you can cut up the rest for snacking on while you make the burgers. Snacks are very important. Anyways, cut the top and bottom off the pineapple, and then slice the outer part off as well. Slice four 2cm pieces and set them aside. Cut the rest of it into chunks for the aforementioned snacking purposes.
STEP 3: Finely chop the onion and place it in a big bowl. Add the tablespoon of teriyaki sauce and stir it up.
STEP 4: Add the pork to the big bowl and crack an egg over top. Season generously with salt and pepper and give it a good mix.
STEP 5: Divide the meat mixture evenly into four balls. Hint: scantly fill a 1-cup measuring cup for each portion. Flatten each ball into a patty, wider and flatter than you want the finished burger to be (they shrink up as they cook!). Place on a parchment-lined cutting board.
STEP 6: Clean and oil the grate and place the patties on the grill. Cook, undisturbed, for about 10 minutes.
STEP 7: While the burgers are grilling, cook the bacon. Yes, the ingredient list calls for 8 rashers, but what – are you going to cook only part of a package of bacon? Are you a monster? No. Cook the whole thing and save the rest for later. Or snack on the excess. Remember the whole “snacking is important” thing? Yeah. That.
STEP 8: Once the bacon is done, or while it’s cooking, slice up your tomato and wash your lettuce.
STEP 9: Flip them burgers, baby. They should be almost done, so just cook them for another few minutes, and then remove them from the grill.
STEP 10: Clean up the grill a bit, and then place your pineapple slices on the grate. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until you have some nice caramel-coloured grill marks.
STEP 11: Spread some more teriyaki sauce on each sliced bun, if desired. Not in the mood for more teriyaki sauce? Try mayo. It’ll add just enough moisture and help bring all the flavours together. Place the burger patty on the bottom of the bun, top with the pineapple, bacon, tomato, and lettuce, and finish with the top of the bun.
Mahalo!