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Pork burger with hatch chili on a wooden block.
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Pork Burger with Hatch Chiles and Pickled Red Onion

A super flavorful pork burger with pickled red onion and avocado
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 4
Calories: 707kcal
Author: Cheryl Bennett

Ingredients

For the Burgers

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 4 ounces diced chilies *see note
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon granulated onion
  • 4 ounces pepper jack cheese sliced
  • 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 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ cup rice wine vinegar
  • ½ cup white wine vinegar *not the gallon jug of plain white vinegar
  • ¼ 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.
  • Place burgers on buns and top with pickled onions, cilantro, avocado and salsa.
    *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.

Notes

  • Diced Chilies - 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 chili pepper broken in half.
  • 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 707kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 225mg | Sodium: 2311mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 755IU | Vitamin C: 13.1mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 2.5mg