Pork Burger "Sliders" with Roasted Onion Relish

On Saturday it was Paul's turn to cook. He decided to make these burgers, choosing a recipe from my favourite BBQ cookbook: "Weber's Real Grilling". It was published in 2005 and mine is 'dog-eared' and falling apart. Now that the nice weather is back upon us I'll probably make something from this book every week.

He hadn't read the recipe completely and didn't realize that the relish needed to be made in advance (or at least the onions roasted) so when I got up in the morning I put them on the BBQ so that they would be ready. We had a full day planned with Elise of chicken wing eating, shopping, and wineries so I knew we would be rushed come dinnertime. I'm sure that the neighbours got a kick out of me working the BBQ at 7 am but oh well!

Before we left for our day we set the onions to cool in a bowl on the counter and they were ready to go when we returned. We were still full from the wing feast; we didn't eat at our normal time and ended up eating at 8:30 which worked out fine.

Paul served these with some raw baby carrots and chips.

The flavour combinations in the burgers and the relish were AMAZING! There is no doubt that we will be making this recipe again.

Relish Ingredients

3 medium sized yellow onions
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt (divided)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Burger Ingredients

2 pounds lean ground pork
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

For Relish:

1. Peel onions and cut off both ends.
2. In a medium bowl, coat onions with olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper.
3. Wrap each onion in aluminum foil and grill over indirect medium heat for approximately 1 hour or until they are softened.
4. Allow to cool.
5. Peel the onions. Cut off and discard the stem and root ends. Cut the onions in half lengthwise and then chop into 1/2 inch pieces.
6. Place in medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat.
7. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, ketchup, wine, vinegar, and Tabasco sauce.
8. Stir mixture and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until almost all of the liquid has evaporated (about 10 - 15 minutes)
9. Remove from heat, stir in parsley.

The relish made be made up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated. Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature prior to serving.

For Burger:

1. In a large bowl, combine pork, ketchup, salt, allspice, mustard, pepper and Tabasco sauce
2. Shape into 8 equal sized patties, each about 1/2 inch thick.
3. Lightly brush or spray each side with olive oil.
4. Grill over direct medium heat 10-12 minutes, turning once, until done.
5. Serve on a toasted bun with onion relish.

Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Comments

[sandi @ the whistlestop cafe]

We had burgers last weekend... Yummy! I make a relish like that but we call it chow-chow and eat it on everything.

Maybe that is a name for our Great Escape~ Ciao-Ciao