Hawaiian Pork Burger

A Hawaiian-inspired pork burger with ground ginger and green onion in the patty, topped with barbecue sauce, grilled pineapple and ham.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Published June 18, 2012
Elise Bauer
Hawaiian Pork Burger
Elise Bauer

Yum! Can I say it again? Yum!

The first time I ever encountered the classic "ham and pineapple" combination was at Mountain Mike's Pizza in Mountain View, California, my freshman year in college. I think I ate half a large all on my own.

Hawaiian Pork Burger
Elise Bauer

This burger is a riff on that pizza, and every oh-so-clichéd-but-oh-so-good ham and pineapple combo everywhere.

It's a pig roast in a bun, with ground pork burgers topped with barbecue sauce, sliced ham, and grilled pineapple rings.

Hawaiian Pork Burger
Elise Bauer
1:06

Watch This Yummy Hawaiian Pork Burgers Recipe

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Hawaiian Pork Burger

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Servings 4 servings

For those without a grill, you can easily make these burgers on a cast iron pan or grill pan on the stovetop.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1/4 cup minced green onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt (more to taste, but be careful, the BBQ sauce is salty, as is the ham)
  • Pinch black pepper
  • 4 pineapple rings, fresh or canned
  • 1/4 cup your favorite barbecue sauce
  • 4 burger buns
  • 4 large lettuce leaves (use leafy lettuce)
  • 1/4 pound thinly sliced ham

Method

  1. Make burger mixture:

    Use your (clean) hands to mix the ground pork, green onion, allspice, salt, pepper and ground ginger together in a large bowl until just combined. Don't knead the mixture too much or the burgers will be tough.

  2. Form patties:

    Gently form 4 equal patties, with a slight indentation in the middle (the burgers will contract as they cook, the indentation helps keep the burgers from bulging in the middle too much).

    hawaiian-pork-burger-method-1
    Elise Bauer

    If you want, you can separate the patties with wax paper and store them for a few hours in the fridge before grilling.

  3. Grill the patties:

    Prepare your grill for medium high, direct heat. Scrape down the grill grates and coat with vegetable oil.

    Place the pork patties on the hot grill and paint the top with barbecue sauce.

    hawaiian-pork-burger-method-2
    Elise Bauer

    Cover the grill and cook for 5-7 minutes. Flip the burgers and paint with more barbecue sauce.

  4. Grill pineapple rings:

    After you've flipped the burgers, lay the pineapple rings down on a hot part of the grill. Cook the burgers for another 5 to 7 minutes, until cooked through.

    Cook the pineapple rings for 3-5 minutes, or until you have nice grill marks on one side. Flip the pineapple and grill another 1-2 minutes.

    Remove the pineapple and burgers from the grill and let them rest 5 minutes.

  5. Toast burger buns on grill:

    While the meat is resting, toast the burger buns on the hot grill until the edges brown nicely, about 1-2 minutes.

  6. Assemble the burgers:

    To construct the burger, lay some lettuce on the bun, add the burger patty and paint with a little more barbecue sauce. Top with the ham, then the pineapple, then the other bun.

    Serve immediately.

Links:

Luau Burger - from Steamy Kitchen

Portuguese Pineapple Burger - from Leite's Culinaria

Hawaiian Pork Burger
Elise Bauer