Pork Burger

Pigalicious

I can't imagine anything more culinarily terrifying than channeling Rachel Ray. But when my friend Stephen over at Stephen Cooks went on a burger binge for several months trying all sorts of variations on a bun with meat in it that's what accused him of. Nevertheless, Stephen's creations are far too imaginative and demonstrate far too deep an understanding of food and cooking for that really to be the case. Lobster burgers anyone?

Possibly sparked by Stephen's experiments, I had an urge to make a pork burger. So I bought some boneless country-style ribs and a package of onion buns and decided to see what I could come up with.

I wanted something not-too complicated because I wanted the pork flavor to be largely unadorned. I also wanted a crisp exterior. I'm not sure why, but I liked the idea of biting into the soft bun, then through a crisp shell, to reach a juicy interior. We often fail to think about textures and, instead, concentrate on flavors when cooking. But texture contributes a lot to the eating experience.

My burger turned out better than I had hoped. The bread crumb crust sealed the exterior and produced an exceptionally juicy result -- dripping down my beard onto the plate.

Pork Burger

1 lb pork rib meat (or ground pork)
2 tbsp rubbed sage
1/2 ea red onion -- finely diced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 c bread crumbs
2 ea eggs -- beaten
1/2 c flour
salt and pepper
3 tbsp vegetable oil or bacon grease

If using rib meat, partially freeze and then grind using the disc with small perforations.

Mix together pork, 1 tablespoon sage, soy sauce, and salt & pepper being careful not to overwork the mixture. Form into patties and chill about 30 minutes.

Mix together bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon sage, and additional salt and pepper. Lightly dredge patties in flour, then coat in egg, then coat in bread crumbs. Chill another 30 minutes and heat oven to 375F.

Heat vegetable oil (or bacon grease if you have it) in a large, oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add patties and cook until browned on one side -- about four minutes. Flip patties and cook another two minutes, then place pan in oven on middle rack and cook another 15 minutes. Serves 4.

The onion buns were quite good and I dressed them with Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, and a slice of sharp cheddar. There was already onion in the burgers but a slice of tomato might be good.

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