Pork & Leaves

OK, so as as much as I put some colourful vegetables on the plate and called it “Pork & Leaves” this is really just a successful two-part burger experiment. Part one wasn’t much of a stretch as it was simply using spice rub ingredients as the seasoning in the burger. The second part was the real experiment. I heard part of a CBC Radio interview with what I think was a food scientist and “burger expert”. She mentioned using lentil flour as a binder to keep burgers exceptionally moist. I could’t find lentil flour at my usual stores, so I put some dried lentils in the spice grinder and ground them to powder. When mixed into the the burger meat along with the seasonings, the lentil flour didn’t impart any flavour, though it did exactly what it was supposed to do and that’s keep more moisture in the meat. I only used two teaspoons, though will bump it up to a full tablespoon next time.

Make this burger, or the next time you mix up your own favourite burger, add some lentil flour. It’ll become a valuable part of your BBQ arsenal.

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground pork
1 tablespoon lentil flour
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon very finely ground espresso
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon ground oregano
⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Lettuce leaves
Tomato slices
Red onion slices
 

Preparation:

Preheat your BBQ grill on medium.

Place the pork, flour, salt, espresso, chili, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin, oregano and pepper in a bowl. Mix with your hands until just evenly combined.

Form the meat mixture into four patties.

Grill for two minutes on each side or until cooked through.

Plate the burgers with the lettuce, tomatoes and onion slices.

Get the PDF and nutrition info

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