Time to fire the Charcoal Grill - Pork Burgers!

Pork Burgers; Photo by Jennifer Davick

A few years back when I was living in the Carriage House I came across a neat recipe in an old June issue of Southern Living Magazine.  It was for “Pecan-Crusted Pork Burgers with Dried Apricot Chipotle Mayonnaise."   Southern Living described the recipe as an “alternative” to regular beef burgers.   Something different, “down home” yet a “little gourmet.”   I'll admit, I love Southern Living -  Just for the recipes, all of which are easy and simple and just delicious.      So, pork and burger?  Why not?   So, I made them.  My spring and summer grilling has never been the same since.   These Pork Burgers create a sensation each time.    Granted, this is warmer weather fare, when the old Weber can be fired up.  It’s a nice surprise for the springtime griller after a long winter of going without.    The Pork Burger is also something you can easily make throughout the rest of the grilling season and spoil your guests with a treat they’ve never had before.  Grilling a burger that's different (not to mention mouth watering);  that’s the key.  

   

Last Monday I decided it was time to de-winterize and enliven the Weber.  Thanks to the care of my old landlord that had kept it for me, it was in good shape after the winter.    I retrieved it from the English Basement and brought it to my “new” place, which I’ll call “The Quorum” (a nickname my roommate and I came up with, long story).     My old worn-out Weber, pictured below, is one of those relics that has taken me through many seasons of serious grilling, from the amateur cooking out of my college past to some more serious grilling with special friends that taught me a few tricks, particularly a friend I’ll call Ken who certainly possessed kitchen-to-grill culinary savvy.

Rule #1:  You have to have charcoal.  Sorry to those of you that like your convenient gas (or electric??!) grills, but it’s just not true grilling. Even Ina Garten agrees.  Charcoal grilling gives a flavor unmatched by any other method.  So please, be respectable and use a charcoal grill.   Any kind will work.  But I think Weber is the best.  They just hold up and stand the test of time (like mine has).    Why mess with lighter fluid?   A friend years ago showed me that using a Chimney Charcoal Starter is really the way to go.  By not using lighter fluid you can also avoid the risk of blowing yourself up and won’t have to deal with any possible taste of the fluid in your grilled dinner.   Besides, chimney starters are just easier.   Simply fill it with charcoal, take two pieces of newspaper, stuff on the bottom, light the newspaper, and let it go.  Mine usually takes 15 minutes to get fully stoked.  It’s a magical process.  Well, at least I think it is.  I’m still impressed by the Chimney Charcoal Starter concept, but grilling experts have been doing this for years.  Ha!    Once the coals are perfectly red and flaming, dump them out of the chimney starter onto the bottom grate of the grill.   Now for the Pork Burgers!



My Trusty Weber



The recipe is here.  Be careful to buy the right kind of ground pork.  Not sausage pork or italian sausage pork – just plain ground pork.  It’s sometimes tricky to find this at regular supermarkets, mainly because its not a commonly used meat item.  Johnsonville is the common main brand, but any proper butcher shop can freshly grind it for you.     If lost and confused at the supermarket, just always ask the on-hand “butcher” and he’ll hopefully retrieve some from hiding.  This may involve enless waiting and beligerantly lazy butchers or unskilled meatmongers that don't speak your language, but if asked with a smile and slightly desperate look, miracles can happen.      The key to the Pork Burger is the Dried Apricot-Chipotle Mayonnaise!    The key to the mayonnaise mixture is the inclusion of the chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce.  Hot, smokey.  Yum!     Any brand works, but I usually get La Costena because my supermarkets of choice are either Kroger or Libbie Market and that's all they carry.     Coat the the burgers heavily with the buttery chopped pecans.  Heavily!  Musn't detract from the potential texture, and many of the pecans will fall off in the grill.    Word of note, make sure you soak the dried apricut for 15-20 mins in the lime juice.  So crucial!  Just follow the directions in this case, you won't regret it.     

A bit of advice:  These pork burgers can be either too hot (ie spicy) or not hot enough.  I personally love things with heat, so I load and pack the mayonnaise mixture with the chipotle peppers unless i know I'm going to have guests that may have a weaker palate.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  My palate is a sadistic nut for the heat and all things peppery and so often my guests eating these little burgers have take the brunt of that.  Not fair!  So be mindful of the heat.  Sample and taste the mayonnaise throughout mixing.  And feel free to add whatever else to the mayonnaise you prefer (like a dash of lime juice, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, regular crushed pepper, cayenne).    The basic recipe is superb, but employ creativity to make it yours.  That's the way, however daunting it may seem. 

Then the grilling:  Coat the grate of the grill with vegetable oil.  Lots of it; pecan-crusted pork burger patties have a tendency to stick even more than regular burgers and the oil will help.  Use a paper towel soaked with oil and coat down the grate before placing on top of the coals.    Make the burger patties small and thin.  There is nothing more disheartening than serving your guests Pork Burgers that are too rare on the inside.  No one should have to eat rare ground PORK.  But yet, no more than 7 mins on each side when it comes to grilling.   I'll blog soon about grilling temperatures as I myself gain greater knowlege this summer.  In the meantime, it's worth noting that while charcoal is the best, it's also much more challenging to maintain a proper heating temperature.  This is especially annoying when doing pork burgers because they grill much differently than beef burgers.   A key element for helping maintain proper coal temp is making sure the bottom of the grill is clean so that the air holes are open.  This allows for the embers to properly breathe from underneath.  It's so easy for charcoal dust to build up and block the naturally-placed holes in the bottom of your grill.  Don't get lazy, even if you did belong to a fraternity.  Don't just expect your grill to become de-sooted.  Clean it before grilling!   Charcoal Grilling is to Fly Fishing like Gas Grilling is to Bait Fishing.  In other words, you can't be lazy when it comes to charcoal grilling.  It's more of a challenge. 

On that warm "Monday Funday" evening when I broke in the grill, I roasted some asparagus to accompany the burger.  I love asparagus; roasted in virgin olive oil with red pepper flake and kosher salt, there's nothing better.   For the bun I used challah buns from Montanta Gold, and bib lettuce purchased at the Krog.   Roomate, her friend and S enjoyed!  Here's a picture of my final plating. 

More grilling adventures yet to come.  Enjoy and thanks for reading!  Best, Austin