Day One-Hundred Twenty-One - Pork Burgers with Crunchy Apple and Celery Slaw (6.3.14)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 crisp red apple, such as Gala
• 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp juice
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp whole-grain mustard
• 2 stalks celery, finely sliced
• 1 scallion, finely sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 oz blue cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup, optional)

Instructions

1. Place the pork in a large bowl. Coarsely grate half the apple and add to the bowl along with the thyme, lemon zest, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper; mix to combine. Form the mixture into 4 patties.
2. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the burgers, covered, until just cooked through, 5-7 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with fail to keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard and remaining 1/2 Tbsp oil. Cut the remaining apple into 1/2-in pieces. Add them to the lemon mixture along with the celery, scallion and parsley and toss to combine. Fold in the blue cheese (if using).
4. Place the burgers on buns, top with the apple slaw and serve with salad, if desired.

Opinions

Katie: These burgers were good. For the slaw, we substituted the crunchy portion of romaine leaves for the celery; it worked out well. The slaw added good flavor but I would have probably put a little bit less lemon zest into the pork mixture as that a stronger lemon flavor that was almost overpowering other flavors. I would definitely make these burgers again.

Potter: This was an interesting take on burgers. Definitely delicious but not as savory as you would expect burgers to be, more sweet and citrusy. It was a great blend of flavors, the slaw was a great balance to the burger patty.