Grilled Three-Pork Burgers

These burgers, made with ground pork shoulder, chorizo and bacon, pack a lot of flavor. Letting the mixture rest in the refrigerator allows the seasonings to marry and develop. If fresh chorizo is unavailable, use a link of fresh, hot Italian sausage, increase the garlic to 4 cloves and double the quantity of smoked paprika.

 

Grilled Three-Pork Burgers

 

2 lb. (1 kg) nicely marbled boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes

1/2 small fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and cut into large chunks

1 shallot, quartered

3 garlic cloves

1/4 lb. (125 g) fresh, soft chorizo sausage, casing removed

3 oz. (90 g) bacon, very finely chopped

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

6 crusty rolls, split and lightly toasted

Mayonnaise for spreading

6 to 12 crisp lettuce leaves

6 tomato slices

 

Place the pork on a baking sheet and freeze, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

 

In a food processor, combine the fennel, shallot and garlic. Pulse until finely chopped and transfer to a large bowl. Add one-third of the chilled pork to the processor and pulse about 12 times until coarsely chopped; don’t let it turn to mush. You may have to redistribute the pork to achieve an even texture. Scrape out into the bowl without compacting the meat. Repeat to chop the remaining cubes.

 

Using a fork, thoroughly mix in the chorizo, bacon, cumin, paprika, thyme, parsley, 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Form 6 loosely packed patties, then gently flatten them to about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick and 3 1/2 inches (9 cm) in diameter. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes or up to 6 hours. Cover with plastic wrap if chilling more than 1 hour.

 

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a grill, or preheat a cast-iron stove-top grill pan over medium-high heat. Season the burgers with salt and pepper. Place on the grill rack over the hottest part of the fire or in the grill pan, and cook, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a burger registers 155° to 160°F (68° to 71°C), 8 to 10 minutes total. Turn the burgers again if necessary. The center of each burger will be just barely pink.

 

Spread the bottoms of the rolls with mayonnaise. Add the lettuce, burgers, tomato slices and tops of the rolls. Serve immediately. Serves 6.

 

Adapted from The Cook & the Butcher, by Brigit Binns.