I have for you today on this lovely Aloha Friday a burger of epic proportions. My Hawaiian Pineapple Burger with Sweet Maui Onions and Homemade Taro Chips. That goes amazingly well with Maui Brewing Co. beer.
When my friend Kita of the blog Girl Carnivore asked me to join in her burger month group I was excited to join in since it has been a while since I posted a burger recipe on my blog. I found out about the group before my recent trip to Hawaii and I told her my burger would be " some sort of epic Hawaiian burger".
A huge thanks to all the sponsors of this awesome burger month.
I know its a bit cliche to have something pineapple in a recipe and call it Hawaiian. When that actually bugs me to no end. Just adding in pineapple doesn't make it Hawaiian. Especially when its nachos, or tater tot casserole, or a grilled cheese sandwich or anything really that isn't remotely close to Hawaiian cuisine. So for me to even call this Hawaiian - it should be more Hawaiian inspired - BUT - I have so many ingredients in it that came from Hawaii that I am sticking to the name.
I always stock up on Hawaiian pantry items every trip and this trip was no exception. I brought home a ton of stuff along with a case of fresh Maui Gold Pineapples and some sweet Maui onions. The idea for this burger came to me on our trip and at first I was going to make a Kalua pork burger but I decided to go with ground pork. Because I have a fun Kalua Pork slider recipe that I make often for my family at dinner and I need to share it. And I thought a burger with caramelized onion and pineapple IN the actual burger would be amazing.
This salt mix is amazing, it has my favorite red Hawaiian salt mixed with guava powder and other seasonings and is so good on fish, chicken and pork. I knew this would be perfect in the burgers.
Another item I introduced my kids to in Maui was taro. In the form of chips. Haven't introduced them to poi yet, but knowing how much they love chips I knew they would love taro chips, which they did. My Hawaiian pineapple burgers needed chips to go with and I knew I wanted to make homemade taro chips.
You can find taro in Asian or international grocery stores in the produce section either whole unpeeled or peeled in packages. Its easy to peel - like a potato, and slice thinly with a sharp knife or mandoline. My mandoline slicer sucks - mostly plastic so I went with a sharp knife but if you have a more heavy duty mandoline use that. You want to slice pretty thin. My friend Samantha has a really easy taro chip recipe that I used for these, but I used coconut oil instead of olive oil. The recipe for her chips are HERE.
When baked taro chips tend to curl up a little and almost make little bowl like shapes. Perfect for scooping up poke. Which will be another recipe soon - I have been wanting to make poke bowls for my blog and I finally went to a local international grocery store the other day that has a ton of sushi grade fish so I will be going back soon to stock up on ingredients to share with you all one of my absolute favorite things to eat.
Burger extreme closeup time. Just look at the chunks of caramelized pineapple and onion in the burger. It really added more flavor and juiciness to the burger. This is why I can call this a Hawaiian pineapple burger because it truly has Hawaiian pineapple IN the burger. I also added an extra slice of grilled pineapple and guava ketchup as well as my personal fave - passion fruit mustard as the condiments. So many layers of Hawaiian flavors.
Hawaiian Pineapple Burger with Sweet Maui Onions and Homemade Taro Chips
Ingredients
For the burgers:
- 1 ½ c pineapple diced
- ½ sweet maui onion or any sweet maui onion diced, about ⅔ c
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 24 ounces ground pork
- 3 teaspoon guava garlic salt or two teaspoons red hawaiian salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper
Toppings and Condiments:
- Tomato slices
- red and green leaf lettuce leaves
- Pineapple rings lightly grilled
- Guava Ketchup mix ⅔ c ketchup with 1 tablespoon guava jam
- Passion Fruit mustard or dijon mixed with passion fruit jam
- Brioche or Sweet Hawaiian Bread burger buns
Taro Chips:
- 1 lb taro root peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- red Hawaiian salt
- black Hawaiian lava salt
Instructions
- In a saute pan over medium heat add the coconut oil, heat for a minute then add the onion and pineapple, cook until starting to carmelize, about 10 min. Cool completely.
- While the pineapple mixture is cooling make the taro chips. Spread the taro rounds onto baking sheets lined with either parchment or silicone baking mats. Brush both sides of the slices with coconut oil and sprinkle with the salts. Bake at 400 Deg for 15-20 min. Checking half way and flipping some chips if needed. Remove when starting to turn golden brown. The thicker pieces will take longer to bake. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with more salt if desired.
- Once the pineapple onion mixture is cool add it to the ground pork in a large mixing bowl along with two teaspoons of the guava garlic salt and mix. Form into four patties about 1 inch thick and about 5 inches across. Sprinkle the remaining salt over the top. They will be thick patties.
- Grill on medium high heat on a preheated grill for about 10-12 minutes, flipping once halfway through cooking. Grill the pineapple for a few min while the burgers are grilling.
- Let the burgers rest while you assemble the rest of the ingredients.
- Slightly toast the buns, spread mustard on the bottom, layer with lettuce, tomato slices, the burger patty then a grilled pineapple slice. Spread some of the guava ketchup on top and then add the top bun. Serve with taro chips and an ice cold beer. Preferably Maui Brewing Co Mana Wheat. Its brewed with pineapple!!!
That is one EPIC Hawaiian Pineapple Burger!!
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