Pork and Apple Burger

It’s barbeque season and I love it! But I have to confess I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to the sorts of things I barbeque. I refuse to buy those products they sell in the barbeque aisle of the supermarkets as I am not entirely sure what they contain. I love to barbeque whole cuts of meat but every now and then I really like a good burger.

My love of burgers stems from that après club snack of my younger days. My favourite was always the blue cheese burger and that is where the inspiration for this dish comes from. That burger was a normal beef burger with blue cheese mayo. As my tastes have developed I now know that blue cheese, pork and apple are a match made in heaven. So that is what I did.

This is a recipe for real burger. A burger that contains real meat and just enough other ingredients to bind it together and add flavour.  It is perfect served with the blue cheese sauce.

Ingredients:

• 60g white bread, torn into pieces;
• 30-50ml milk;
• 1kg minced pork;
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and grated;
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped;
• 2 tablespoons of chopped, fresh sage;
• 1 egg;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• lettuce , blue cheese sauce and burger buns to serve.

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, soak the bread in the milk. The bread should soak up the milk without any left in the bottom of the bowl. The amount of milk required will depend on how old the bread is. Use just enough milk to soak the bread.
2. Mix the bread with the pork mince, grated apple, garlic and chopped sage. Mix thoroughly with your hands so the ingredients are well distributed.
3. Lightly beat the egg then add to the meat mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly then chill in the fridge for half an hour.
4. Once chilled, shape the burgers. Divide the mixture into 8-10 portions depending on how large you want the burgers. Wet your hands with cold water to stop the meat sticking to your hands. Shape the burgers by rolling the meat into balls and firmly flattening them.
5. Chill the burgers before cooking so they don’t fall apart on the barbeque. This usually takes a minimum of half an hour.
6. Pre-heat the barbeque to medium hot and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes each side or until firm and cooked through.
7. Serve in a lightly tosated bun with shredded iceberg lettuce and blue cheese sauce.