Every now and then you come across a new recipe that has you thinking “This is so simple and tastes so amazing. Where has it been all of my life?” These juicy burgers definitely fit into that category. In fact, just before I sat down to write this I had to get some more pork out to thaw because there is no way I am sharing this recipe with you today, and talking about it, and emailing about it, and NOT getting to have it! The trick is in that one surprise ingredient that I did not see coming – but it makes all the difference in the world.
I tried this recipe for the first time in my first HelloFresh delivery and instantly fell in love. My husband and kids were fans from the first bite as well. I adapted it just a wee bit (leaving out the fresh rosemary because I’m just not someone who has fresh rosemary hanging around) and the flavor is still every bit as amazing. It’s truly hard to believe how simple this is. Another thing that amazed me is that if you make extra patties, they reheat well in the microwave. Usually, hamburger steaks toughen up a bit but these heat up as if they just came out of the skillet.
Seriously. PLEASE, I implore you to try these as soon as you possibly can.
Let me show you how easy they are to make!
You’ll need ground beef or ground pork and a medium to large Granny Smith apple, salt, and pepper.
That’s it. But the trick is in what you do with that apple.
(Why the strike out on ground pork? We don’t eat it anymore but we did when I wrote this tutorial. I changed the ingredients to beef in the instructions to reflect that though.)
Peel your apple and grate the entire thing (well, not the core of course) on a cheese grater or microplane.
Place grated apple in center of paper towel. Hold paper towel over plate or bowl and squeeze tightly to remove most of the juice.
Mix, by hand, grated apple, salt, and pepper into ground beef until well mixed.
Form this into four patties and pan fry over medium heat until juices run clear.
Try not to flip your patties until the meat releases, four to five minutes (or so, depending on your heat level). If you try to flip the meat and it sticks it has not released yet. Protein shrinks up as it cooks so this is what causes it to release from the skillet and allows for easy flipping.
Enjoy your deliciously tender juicy burgers!
Ingredients
- 1 medium to large Granny Smith apple
- 1 pound ground pork or beef
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and grate apple. Wrap grated apple in center of paper towel and squeeze to remove much of the juice.
- In a medium bowl, place ground pork, grated apple, salt, and pepper. Mix with hands until well combined. Form into four patties. Pan fry over medium high heat until no longer pink in the center, flipping once. Enjoy!
Nutrition
“No such thing as spare time. No such thing as free time. No such thing as down time. All you got it life time. Go.
~Henry Rollins
I’m going to try the “apple trick” in our venison. And pork ! Pork and venison together..Hmmm. What do you think of that meat combo ??
Do you taste the apple or is it a hidden taste?
I’m eating one right now and I’ve never tasted it, it just serves as a binder and adds moisture and tenderness 🙂
Sounds really nice going to make theses x
A friend of mine makes these with a 1/4 cup of applesauce and a 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder, and they are amazingly moist and oh, so good too.
Cathy, I tried the applesauce and garlic pwr this weekend and they were so moist. I did them on the grill and that worked very good. In a couple weeks I will try them with a grated Granny Smith. I used Jimmy Dean sausage and if I’m out I use Tennessee Pride sausage.
I’m with Christy with the ketchup condiment.
The potatoes on your plate look delicious, what type are they and are they oven baked?
Want to try the pork burgers but would like the potatoes also.
Enjoy all your post, keep up the good work!
Those are Yukon Gold potatoes, just roasted like I would any vegetable, using this recipe here, only with Rosemary added. https://www.southernplate.com/2014/06/how-to-perfectly-roast-any-vegetable.html
Me, too…how did you make those spuds?
Can these be cooked on the grill? You mentioned using a skillet or pan.
They sure could!!
great tip about letting the meat release, thanks for explaining that!