Hawaiian "Bullseye" Burger

Labor Day is dubbed the "unofficial" end of Summer. I'll say! My friends, from all over the country, are lamenting that it's in the 90's. We're a bit cooler on the Central Coast of California, but it's plenty warm enough to keep our love of grilled dinners going. So while school is back in session, there are still plenty of weekends left to fire up the grill.  Plus, with football underway, I'm sure there will be plenty of barbeques happening. There's still plenty of time, before I start making pumpkin recipes and hearty stews & soups.

Target is the one-stop shop for all of your grilling and backyard entertaining needs. Featuring meats, condiments, flavorful sauces and fresh sides, Target’s owned brands Archer Farms and Market Pantry offer delicious, high-quality products at a great value. Additionally, select Target stores carry Target’s Sutton & Dodge brand, delivering a full menu of perfectly marbled, premium quality USDA Choice Angus beef that is naturally aged, hand-trimmed and found in the best steakhouses – at a fraction of the price. 

Target Stores offered me a $25.00 gift card to create a grilling recipe.  Yes, please!  We shop at Target all the time, which is right on my path from work to home.  I've compared prices for many of our pantry and grocery staples, like milk, bread and even beer.  In most cases, Target prices are less expensive that my grocery store! 

On the day I decided to shop, in the Target grocery store area, the store happened to be sold out of hot dog buns (that was Labor Day weekend.)  So, I made my own hot dog buns-- and they were so good! (I will share that recipe  on my next post.)

This weekend, I wanted to use the same roll recipe to shape them into hamburger buns. Of course, I wanted to created a hamburger recipe with the ground beef and Archer Farms Sweet Pineapple Hawaiian-Style Barbecue sauce that I purchased, at Target.

Let's see... Pineapple Barbecue Sauce.  Well, that inspired to think about something Hawaiian. As luck would have it, I found a ripe pineapple at the grocery store.  I am in-love with this pineapple slicer/corer. It' s so easy to simply lop off the top of the pineapple, screw in the corer and...

...twist and then lift up the pineapple!

To make a Hawaiian-themed burger, I decided to use a combination of one pound (each) ground beef and pork.  To season the burger patties, I used sliced green onion, allspice and ground ginger-- and then I added cilantro.

 

I shaped eight patties, and pressed an indentation in the middle (this prevents the burger from "buckling" so that they grill nice and flat).  

For a little crunchy texture, I decided to make a quick mayonnaise-free slaw.  I had a bag of pre-cut cabbage and I added a little red cabbage (for color) and shredded some carrots. I added about a cup of the freshly sliced pineapple.  For the dressing, I used rice vinegar, honey-mustard, poppy seeds, a little garlic, salt & pepper and some sugar.  (I'll create a printable recipe card at the end of this post.)

You can use any kind of vinegar, really. I chose rice vinegar, because I didn't want the dressing to overpower the flavors in the burger.

My husband fired up our Weber grill with briquettes, and we were both pretty hungry.

Since it was just the three of us, I stacked the remaining patties in between waxed paper and froze them.

It took about 5 minutes, per side, for the burgers to be grilled. Once they were flipped, we slathered them with the barbecue sauce.  The pineapple slices were grilled for about 4 minutes. 

Let's build a burger:  On the bottom half of a grilled hamburger bun, place the pineapple. Lay the patty on top.

 

Add a layer of slaw...

Top with the bun, and dig in!  

TASTING NOTES: I loved the texture of the hamburger patty.  The seasonings weren't overpowering, but spot on. The barbecue sauce has a little bit of kick to it!  I loved the crunch of the slaw, as well.  You might be wondering a few things? Do you have to use fresh pineapple? No, canned sliced pineapple works just as well. Do you have to make your own slaw? No, you can buy it-- or use lettuce instead. Do you have to make your own hamburger buns? No, not at all!  But...if you'd like to know how to make your own, in less than an hour, I will share that recipe on my next post. (Click here for the Hamburger Bun Recipe.)

*****Giveaway has ended and the winner has been announced*******

 

Target Stores sent me a hotdog grilling basket and a set of plastic serving baskets (pictured with the grilled hot dog, above) and a $25.00 gift card to giveaway to a lucky reader. If you'd like to win this prize, just leave a comment below.  I'd be curious to hear what your favorite thing is to grill-- or just say "hi".  You can win extra entries by following me on my Facebook Fan Page and leaving a comment that you've done so.  You can also follow me on twitter, and tweet that you are.

I will pick a winner on Friday, September 20th and announce the winner on the following day-- Saturday. Just a few rules-- you must leave comments here, and not on my Facebook Fan Page. I can only ship within the 48-states-- sorry. You must have an email address where I can contact you-- so anonymous comments won't help...unless you want to post your email address.

I always post a printable recipe card at the end of each recipe post. If you cannot view it, you might be using an older version of InternetExplorer. You should be able to view my recipe cards with Safari, Mozilla, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.
If you still can't view the recipe card, all of my recipes are stored on Key Ingredient, by clicking here.