Hello everyone, I'm asking for advice on an idea I have in my mind and I'm not sure if it's safe or dangerous:
Recently I made pork burger and the result was between delicious and "o.k". My brother loved it but he thought that he was eating a beef burger. I wanna make a burger that tastes like pork so my idea is to cook pork shoulder for 4 hours in a slow cooker, shred it and grind it with raw pork fat, after that cook the patty on a grill 4 to 5 minutes per side.
Is that a clever and safe idea or I'm just bringing some bacterias to my already cooked food that can grow faster and won't die with heat???????
I think that's fine as long as you're grinding it right before. If I was trying to get more flavor, I'd probably render the fat and mix it in or add some of the pork fat to the skillet. Or caramelize onions in your rendered pork fat etc.
I say skip the slow cooker, grind your fat in like you would a normal burger 25-30% fat. If you want it to say pork, add some spices like toasted fennel or sage. Your burger will say "I AM SAUSAGE, I AM PORK."
Cube your shoulder up and your pork fat. Mix together then put it in the freezer till almost frozen then run that through your grinder. Being that cold you will get the best blend of fat and lean.
The idea of shredding it and grinding it with raw pork fat is the right idea if you want to make burger to taste like pork. I've done it several times. Sometimes I make pork burgers taste like pork sausages. Of course, to do this, it depends on the KIND of sausage I want the ground pork to taste like. I want an Italian pork flavor, so fennel seeds would be the key ingredient.
I agree with Mike9 on grinding together the meat and the fat when raw. That's my usual approach. And yes, I sometimes use the food processor instead of the grinder.
And while I normally very lightly season the patties and use the toppings and sauces to get the desired flavor, I have certainly ground in onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, herbs and such right in with the meat.
It's a burger - the main rule is to make something you like.
What if you add some pork cracklings to your burger? I remember a chicken burger recipe i made some years ago, where i used chicken skin cracklings, and it was good.
@hmsanabriam make sure both are cooled properly as well. You may have a problem with forming and keeping a burger shape with shredded pork, maybe an egg to help bind. Done similar as smoked brisket burgers and add cooked bacon to pork sliders.
@hmsanabriam will do and don't be surprised if I show up there! Have friends and worked in Panama and El Salvador! Do you have Suprema Beer in Columbia?, one of my favorites, just another reason to visit!
I did it raw with seasoning and the result was a nice hamburger with a soft texture but it was hard to tell that it was made of pork. IT tasted like beef or beef with chicken but not pork
I did it raw with seasoning and the result was a nice hamburger with a soft texture but it was hard to tell that it was made of pork. IT tasted like beef or beef with chicken but not pork
Isn't that more an indication of the flavor of your pork itself? Varying breeds/crosses have wide range of flavors to their meat...and within those flavors the cuts from each animal will vary as well.
If you make a version to grind fresh (with fat). I would add the Lochona seasonings directly to the mix (cumin, sazon, salt and pepper...or whatever you use). Then melt some lard, and season...then brush the bottoms of the bun and lightly toast...top with some scallions.
Choosing the cut...I think I'd pick some cutting that had a mix of both white and dark pork in it to grind.
Grinding a previous pork shoulder? I think I'd just leave it as is and heat it grilled cheese style in a pan...kind of like a cheat for a Cuban sandwich.
Your idea sounds delicious though...I'd love to see some pictures or a description of how things went!
Interesting topic. I think the notion of a "pork flavor" is too broad. A smoked pork shoulder does not taste at all like a country ham, which does not taste at all like chorizo sausage. So depending on which of those flavors you're going for it would change the approach. One thing I might try would be the addition of either a dry or paste pork bouillon product. It could help intensify the pork flavor, but I think most of those products lean towards a ham flavor which may not be what you are after.
The flavor I'm looking for is that delicious slow-cooked pork shoulder that blends perfectly with literally everything..it's juicy, soft, perfect texture....
Well, I finally made the experiment and the result was nice but not great.
First I made a patty with 90grs. of pork and 35 of fat. Result: fat everywhere, broken and messy patty /img/vbsmilies/smilies/mad.gif
Second try: patty with 105 grams of pork and 20 of fat. Result: Nice flavor with crackling flavor but still it was broken.
Third try: patty with 105 grams of pork, 20 of fat and an egg for every 4 patties. REsult: Nice flavor, it didn't broke , it tasted like pork with crackling.
Reviews by my friends: Delicious, cool texture, something quite different.
Turn offs: My friend ate 3 of those in less than 24 hours and he had diarrhea. Also he had like 10 beers and vodka...so maybe it was not the burger as I ate like 4 and nothing happened.
Also I unfrozen a patty and put it in the stove as I don't have a microwave and it broke while thawing. I don't know if I had thawed my patty in the microwave this wouldn't happen......so in the end I don't know what to think...I don't think it can be a commercial product yet.
@hmsanabriam , didn't you say you going to try to mix cooked pork and raw pork? Your last post seems to indicate you used raw pork and fat. I would have thought you'd have used a cooked pork shoulder and some leaner ground pork to make the burger as the cooked would (I think) have the flavor you're looking for and the leaner ground pork would have acted as the binder if you will. Also how did you cook it? When I make brisket sliders I use maybe 60/40 raw to cooked, sear in cast iron and finish in the oven. That being said just ran across a N'duja short-cut (if you will) that combined cured and smoked fat back or fatty belly combined with chipotle peppers in adobe which I thought was a brilliant short cut. If you used the cured smoked fat back with the cooked and raw pork IMHO, you'd have a winner for sure. In fact going to have to try it myself. No pics?
Cheers!
EDG
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