Spicy Hawaiian Burgers

This post is dedicated to my wonderful Aunt Deanne!

Before I get to the recipe I want to send a small requests for prayers, good feelings and good karma towards THIS family. She is a friend of mine from school and my heart just absolutely aches for her and her family right now. Keep fighting Celeste!

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We have made these burgers.... three times now? Yes, three. We love them. They are delicious and flavorful and the combination with the pineapple is AMAZING! We have had them with and without cheese and we actually have never refrigerated them for the 30 minutes the recipe recommends and they still have come out just fine. I would definitely not call them "Spicy." Maybe using smoked paprika makes all the difference? We just use normal paprika and DOUBLE the chili powder and still... not spicy. Oh well. Still delicious!

If you are worried about fruit on a burger - don't be. It isn't any more squishy than eating a burger with a tomato and, if I may say so, tastes a TRILLION times better. (Raw Tomato + Shayla just DOES NOT compute!)

If you don't grind the chicken yourself it can be hard to find already ground. I am happy to report that this excellent recipe works well with ground pork as well. I am sure it would be excellent with ground turkey. If you must try ground beef... go ahead; however, I am not sure it would work AS well. The spices have a very wonderful flavor and mixing them with less flavorful meats produces excellent results. Beef has a pretty dominant flavor by itself so.... good luck!

This excellent recipe and source of the picture are from Homemade by Holman and can be located at this site here: http://homeiswheretheholmansare.blogspot.com/2010/06/spicy-hawaiian-burgers.html

SPICY HAWAIIAN BURGERS

Adapted from Homemade by Holman

2 pounds ground chicken
6 pineapple rings (or equivalent slices, cut about 1/2" - 3/4" thick)
6 slices pepper jack cheese (optional)
6 whole wheat hamburger buns
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chili powder (if you want any kind of “spicy” you may want to double this…)
1/2 tsp seasoning salt (I use Lawry's)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine the ground chicken, soy sauce, paprika, chili powder, seasoning salt and cumin. Lightly mix with your hands and divide into 6 even balls. Form patties.. Refrigerate about 30 minutes.

Preheat the grill to medium heat. Coat grates lightly with oil. Grill burgers over medium heat about 6 minutes per side. The burgers should flip easily when they are ready to turn, if they want to stick, give them another minute. Top with cheese for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking time to melt. Remove to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to rest. Grill buns if desired.

For the pineapple, if you are using rings, grill directly on the grates over medium heat. Carefully turn after 1-2 minutes. If you are using pineapple slices or chunks, thread onto skewers and grill skewers in the same fashion. Assemble burgers and enjoy.