Chorizo burger

Like most everyone else I really enjoy a good burger however since I am not supposed to eat red meat I have to look for alternatives such as chicken, veal or seafood….. heck I’m even thinking of trying a veggie burger but don’t tell the grillers union or I’ll get kicked out…. The difficulty for me in this instance is that I normally eat a lot of chicken and veal and seafood are way expensive so I’m left with using the Noble Pig and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Being the adventurous type that I am I wanted to do something other than the usual dry rub, bread crumbs and eggs and so following my wife’s suggestion I landed on the idea of a Chorizo burger partly because we like Chorizo sausage and partly because I could use all pork and yeah….. it was my wife’s suggestion.

Not really being sure of what goes into a Chorizo sausage I did an Internet search and came up with a few ideas from other recipes and when added to the ideas I had the precooked product looked rather good. The big question now is……. does it taste good.

The answer to the big question is YES……. they are awesome.

Here is how we do this one.

Shopping list:

• 2 pounds regular ground pork
• 1 1/2 dried Guajillo peppers
• 2 garlic cloves – peeled and smashed
• 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
• 2 teaspoons granulated onion
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano

Putting it all together:

1. Place the Guajillo’s in a bowl and cover with boiling water and steep for about 20 minutes
2. When the Guajillo’s have softened pull them from the water but do not discard the water
3. Making sure no seeds are present put the peppers and all the seasonings in the bowl of a food processor
4. Add about two ladles full of the pepper water into the food processor
5. Pulse until a loose paste has been made
6. Put the pork in a large bowl and add the paste
7. Mix well ensuring all the paste is incorporated
8. Cover and put in the refrigerator for about an hour to allow the seasonings and pork to “marry”
9. Form into patties

The finished product should look like this

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond.”

Until next time……..

             Bon Appetit