Good Food! unResolution Month Post #21: Island Fire Burgers

You’ve had jerk chicken, so why not have a

Island Fire BurgersIsland Fire Burger

That’s right an, island fire burger.  Not even I would be so corny as to call this a Ja-Making-Me-Crazy burger.  Close, but no cigar.

Anyway, the whole idea behind this recipe was to bring the flavor of Jamaican jerk wings to the mighty hamburger.  It was an idea that sounded really good in the concept stage, but oh wow did it almost fail gloriously.  See, I made the Jamaican jerk sauce and got it all ready to put on the burgers when I realized I had a major miscalculation.  The jerk sauce was runny.  Not like ketchup runny, but like water runny.

Fortunately, I found a solution.

Island Fire Burger Recipe

That solution?  Crushed pineapple.

For reasons I don’t fully understand I had a can of crushed pineapple in my cabinent which I quickly mixed in with the jerk sauce and history was made.  Long live the Island Fire Burger!

You will need:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons all-spice
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 bunch onion greens (divided)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 4 oz crushed pineapple
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 pounds of hamburger
  • 4 buns
  • Mayonnaise

(Oh, and in all fairness, this recipe from AllRecipes.com got me started on my jerk adventures.)

First thing’s first, caramelize the onions.  Melt the butter in a skillet and add the onions with a pinch of salt.  Cook them over medium-high heat about 8 minutes or until they start to brown.  Then cover the skillet, lower the heat to low and let them cook 45 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes.  When they are done, they will be very brown and quite sweet.

Next, mix the orange juice, all-spice, brown sugar, nutmeg, thyme, ginger, 2 onion greens, garlic powder, salt and pepper with the pineapple in a bowl.  Stir in the olive oil.  Cook in a sauce pan until it just start to boil.   Set aside to cool.

Cook the hamburgers according to the Recipe for the Perfect Hamburger.

When you are done, assemble them by spreading mayonnaise on one bun and the jerk/pineapple mix on the other.  Then add the hamburger, some more green onions, and the caramelized onions.

Then enjoy!

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