Cubano-Style Burger

 

I have much love and great admiration for a lot of different cuisines. With the weather being so hot here in the southwest already, one of the easiest things to make for a quick dinner is a good burger on the BBQ. Flipping through the pages of several of my cooking magazines, my eyes caught the Cubano-Style Burger in "Cuisine at Home".

This burger is modeled after the traditional Cuban roast pork sandwich which is topped with sliced ham and Swiss cheese and I absolutely adore them. We have a little Deli here that makes one of the best Cuban sandwiches, everything is made from scratch using only local ingredients. It is a requirement to  order it every time I eat there, it is that good. 

The burger is composed of pork and beef (which I added to cut a bit of the fat) but you could certainly make this burger with all pork or even turkey. Deli ham and Swiss cheese are layered on top after the burger is cooked through and left on the the grill until the cheese is melted to perfection. The finished burger is then topped with a mustard pickle relish that mimics the flavor of the classic sandwich which usually has pickles on it.

This recipe makes substantial 1/3 pound burgers which are moist and juicy. All the flavors work incredibly well together even before adding the relish, but once it is topped, the burger becomes irresistible.

This burger is so good, my 8 year old managed to eat almost a whole one all by himself and that is unheard off. I'm adding this to our regular burger rotation, and am already planning to make this at our next party. I served this burger with sweet potato fries since that is what I had on hand, but if you are trying to add even more authenticity then go with fried Tostones (fried green plantains). 

So, if you like to crank up the heat, love a really good burger, and want to add a little spice to your next dinner, don't wait, make this soon!

Cubano-Style Burger

~serves 6~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

For the mustard relish:

1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard

1/4 cup dill pickle relish

2 tablespoons minced red onion

2 tablespoons diced pickled jalapeno

1 tablespoon honey

For the burgers:

1 pound ground beef (I used 90 % lean)

1 pound ground pork

Salt and black pepper

6 slices deli-sliced ham

6 slices Swiss cheese

6 onion hamburger buns, buttered

Mayonnaise

Directions:

Preheat one side of grill to medium-high and the other side to low.

Combine ingredients for the relish in a bowl; set aside.

Combine the ground beef and pork. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into a patty slightly larger than the bun to allow fro shrinkage. Season patties with salt and pepper and coat bother sides of each one with nonstick spray or brush lightly with olive oil.

Grill burgers, covered, over medium-high heat until cooked through, 3-5 minutes per side. Top each burger with a slice of ham and a slice of cheese. Grill, covered, until cheese is melted, 1-2 minutes, more. Remove burgers from the grill and tent with foil.

Grill buttered buns, covered, over low heat until lightly toasted, 1-2 minutes.

To serve, spread bottom of buns with mayonnaise, place burgers on buns, and top with mustard relish.

Adapted from: Cuisine at Home