Hawaiian cuisine is a fascinating thing, a real melting pot of influences from all corners of the world. I’ve experimented with this burger over the past year or so, never really feeling like I got it right. The inclusion of Spam and Pineapple was a given, but I often found the teriyaki influence overpowering. By the end of each burger I always felt like I needed a drip due to salt overload.
Finally I think I cracked it – teriyaki mayo, rather than pure teriyaki sauce. And while I’ve attempted to cut the pineapple into a relish of sorts, I think full rings provide a purer texture and flavour. These will make a brilliantly fresh and exciting addition to your Summer BBQ roster.
Ingredients
- Beef Mince
- Soft white burger buns
- Butter
- Pineapple rings
- Spam
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Mayonnaise
- Cheese slices – Cheddar or Red Leicester, something hard and well melting
- Salad to garnish – tomatoes, red onion, lettuce etc.
Method
- Melt a little butter in a pan and gently fry the pineapple slices and spam until the pineapple is browning and caramelised, and the spam is browned, then set them both aside,
- Place the buns inside down on the pan so they soak up the remaining butter and gently brown – a key to adding flavour and preventing soggy buns.
- Shape the mince into patties just slightly wider than the circumference of the buns, as this will account for shrinkage during cooking. Fry on a high heat for a few minutes each side without pressing or overly handling, you don’t want them to get dry. Season the outside with salt and pepper to taste – mixing this through the patty can also cause it to become tough, due to the salt.
- Put the sliced cheese on the top of the patty for the last few minutes of cooking, and if possibly top with a large metal bowl so that the heat inside encourages melting.
- Mix teriyaki sauce and mayonnaise at around a 1:1 ratio.
- Really you can layer this however you like – I went for (from bottom up) bun, tomato, onion, spam, sauce, patty, cheese, pineapple, bun.
The Guesscipe Book 