Pork burger recipe

Heat a frying pan over a high heat with 0.5 oz olive oil.

Add the diced onion and shallot to the pan with a pinch of salt, and cook for around 5 minutes until the onions and shallot start to caramelize and look translucent. Remove from the pan and add to a large mixing bowl. Wipe the pan down to remove any remaining pieces of onion or shallot.

Add the ground pork, smoked paprika, ground cumin, salt, and black pepper to the bowl and mix until the ingredients are all well incorporated.

Using your hands, form around 8 pork patties and place them onto a plate. Using the same pan as before, add the remainder of the olive oil and fry the pork patties for around 4 minutes each side. You want the inside of the patties to reach 160°F/70°C, which you can check using a meat thermometer.

Once cooked through, remove from the pan and serve with fresh burger buns and your choice of additional toppings or sauce.

Tips & tricks

With pork burgers you need to ensure they’re fully cooked through before serving which is the main difference between cooking a beef and pork burger. Unlike with beef, you need the pork burger internal temperature to reach 160°F/70°C so there’s no pink meat remaining. On the other hand, if you leave the patties to cook for too long, they’ll dry out and become tough to eat. To get the best results, it’s worth using a meat thermometer to get the burgers just right. If you want to save time on the day, if you’re hosting guests, you can make the pork burger mix ahead of time. Simply follow the recipe above, and when the patties are shaped, cover them tightly with plastic wrap or foil and store in the fridge. When you’re ready to cook them, bring them back up to room temperature before placing them on the grill or into the pan to ensure even cooking.

You can adapt the pork burger seasoning recipe to your tastes. We’ve shared a basic list of ingredients above, but other chefs will include ground roasted garlic, mustard, and even chunks of bacon. For the pork patties, we’d recommend purchasing ground pork from your local grocery store or butchers, and we have an entire guide to pork cuts if you want to continue your research.

Once you’ve mastered the pork burger, there are a whole host of other recipes to explore using pork mince. From meatballs to rigatoni, pork mince can be easily substituted into many of your favorite beef recipes. For even more burger inspiration for the grill, we’ve rounded up our top picks of different types of burgers, including everything from salmon to turkey burgers, so you can have everyone covered this summer.

How to serve it

We like to serve our burgers the classic way, with a slice of cheese on top, alongside a generous helping of French or sweet potato fries. But you can get more inventive with the plating up of these patties. For the more adventurous home cooks, a serving of zucchini fries pairs brilliantly with the juicy pork, or opt for a lighter choice with a side of avocado salad. The creaminess of the avocado is a delicious match for the slight sweetness of the pork burgers. A dollop of burger sauce or special sauce also helps to finish off a tasty pork burger. When it comes to the choice of cheese, a classic American cheese slice works best, but you can substitute this of course as desired.

Storage

Cooked burgers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days, if stored correctly and not left to cool outside for too long. You can reheat the burgers, but take extra care to make sure they are heated back up to the correct temperature.