Coconut Bacon Burgers With Grilled Pineapple
The Fourth of July is nearly here and festivities are firing up everywhere . . . and, all bets are that your grill is too! A whopping 200 million Americans own a gas or charcoal grill and 72% of these “grate” folks (myself included) plan to put their grill to good use on Independence Day. Beef is always a popular choice for summer grilling, and what better way to satisfy a crowd of patriotic backyard partiers than with a platter of juicy hamburgers fresh off the grill? Basic hamburgers and cheeseburgers never fail, but why not make something more unique to show off your melting pot style?! This easy recipe for Coconut Bacon Burgers with Grilled Pineapple is all USA, but in a tropical Hawaiian vacation sort of way!
This island-inspired burger recipe is sure to make waves and earn raves – plus it’s so easy to make. Burger patties are rolled through shredded coconut and grilled alongside fresh rings of pineapple.
Using a higher fat-content grind of beef (like an 80/20) will help keep burgers juicy and moist, however be mindful of grill flare-ups.
While I didn’t have trouble with burger drippings causing my fire to go crazy, I did make a stupid mistake (although it made so much sense at the time) with the cored pineapple slices. Yes, pineapple is fat-free, however, when dipped experimentally into hot grease from the bacon fried up for this recipe, the slices become almost instant rings of fire – so, don’t be tempted to do that! However, if the grill does flare up, just turn down the heat (assuming gas grill), move food to cooler zone, and/or use a squirt bottle filled with water to get the infernal chaos under control.
Remember that for food safety purposes, all ground beef, including burgers, should be cooked to a 165 F degrees internal temperature. That means pull those patties off the grill when a meat thermometer registers 155 F – they will continue to cook on the platter, rising another 10 degrees.
I like to serve a little bit of doctored up Coconut Manna (aka Coconut Butter) on the side of my Coconut Bacon Burgers with Grilled Pineapple. Look for this simple “butter'” made with just unsweetened coconut and a pinch of salt on the health food aisle. I like to jazz up the texture and taste a little more with an additional sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut, red pepper flakes and basil. This spread can be used in lieu of mayonnaise on the bun and is the ideal condiment to further boost up this burger’s unique flavor! Enjoy!
*(HBPA data).
