Pork Burger with Hatch Chiles and Pickled Red Onion

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5 from 2 votes

Pork Burger with Hatch Chiles and Pickled Red Onion

A super flavorful pork burger with pickled red onion and avocado

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 707kcal

Author: Cheryl Bennett

Ingredients

For the Burgers

1 lb ground pork
4 oz diced chiles *see note
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp granulated onion
4 - 1 oz slices of habanero or pepper jack cheese
4 Brioche Buns sliced

For the Pickled Red Onions

1 extra large red onion sliced into 1/4" rings
1 tablespoon pickling spice **see note
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar not the gallon jug of plain white vinegar!
1/4 cup water

Burger Toppings

Provolone Cheese
Sliced Avocado
Cilantro
Grilled Chile Pepper Strips for the chile heads only!
Tomatillo Salsa Salsa Verde

Instructions

Make the pickled red onions

The day before serving, make the pickled onions. Bring a kettle of water to boil. Place onion slices in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them soak for 3 - 4 minutes, then drain.
Combine the pickling spice, salt, sugar, vinegars and water in a glass jar and add onions. Put the lid on, give it a little shake and refrigerate overnight.

Make the Burgers

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until combined. Divide into 4 equal portions and flatten slightly. Place 1 slice of spicy cheese into the middle and fold pork around to cover the cheese. Flatten into patties and place on a lined sheet pan. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
Heat grill to medium high (500°F) and grill for 4 - 5 minutes per side. Top with provolone cheese, remove from heat and let them rest for 5 minutes. Remember that you have molten cheese inside and a trip to the ER with a burn on the roof of your mouth isn't fun for anyone...
Place burgers on buns and top with pickled onions, cilantro, avocado and salsa.

Notes

*Diced Chiles - I had canned hatch chiles, if you cannot find these at your market substitute a small can of diced green chiles from the Latin Food section.
**Pickling Spice: 1 teaspoon each: mustard seed, allspice berries, black peppercorn plus 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves garlic cut in half lengthwise, 1 dried chile pepper broken in half.
A word on the cheese - I stuffed a slice of Cabot Habanero cheese inside, but if you don't care for that much heat, downgrade to pepper jack or you could omit altogether.

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