Chorizo Pork Burgers

Ingredients

•1 pound ground pork
•1 pound fresh (uncured) chorizo, squeezed out of its casings
•½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
•½ teaspoon smoked paprika (hot or sweet) to taste
•½ teaspoon ground cumin
•1 garlic clove, grated on a Micro plane or minced
•1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
•1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
•2 teaspoons honey
•1 large Spanish onion, sliced
•6 ounces Manchego cheese, thinly sliced
•Hamburger buns, for serving
•Sliced pickles, mayonnaise, mustard and/or ketchup, for serving (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat a grill or broiler to high.

  2. In a large bowl, combine the pork, chorizo, salt, paprika, cumin, and garlic, mixing just to combine. Form into 6 to 8 patties, taking care to keep the mixture loose and not pack it tightly (which makes for a tough burger, as does over mixing; always use a light touch with ground meat).

  3. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and honey. Brush this over both sides of the onion slices and sprinkle them with salt. Grill or broil the onions until they are golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the onions to a plate.

  4. Grill or broil the burgers on both sides until they are cooked to medium. Since this is raw pork, the meat should be cooked until pink on the inside but not red rare (140°F will give you medium to medium-rare meat). This can take anywhere from 3 to 6 minutes per side, depending on how thick you formed your patties and how hot your fire is, so watch them carefully.

  5. When the burgers are almost cooked through, top them with the cheese and let the cheese melt while the patties finish cooking. You can also toast the buns at this point if you like.

    Serve the burgers in the buns, spread with your condiments of choice and the onions and pickles, if using, on top.

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