Weekend Recipe: Richard H. Turner’s Hogburger

There’s very little that can compete with a well-made beefburger, but I’m prepared to stick my neck out and say this chap has a damn good go.

200g Basic Pork Sausage mix (see below), shaped into a patty
1 burger bap (preferably brioche), split
2 teaspoons mustard mayonnaise (50/50 mix)
1 teaspoon Apple Ketchup (see below)
1 Bibb lettuce leaf
1 slice of onion
2 thin slices of gherkin
1 thin slice of beef tomato
100g Pulled Pork (see below)
1 thin slice of cheese (Oggleshield for preference, or Comté)
2 rashers of candied streaky bacon (see below)
50ml Sausage & Onion Gravy, for dipping (see below)

Without seasoning (as the sausage is ready seasoned), grill the sausagemeat patty until charred and just cooked through. Set aside to rest in a warm place.

Toast the insides of the bap and spread the mustard mayonnaise on the bottom and the ketchup on the top. Place the lettuce leaf, onion, gherkin and sausage patty on the mayonnaise side of the bun and the tomato on the ketchup side.

Warm the pulled pork and place on top of the sausage patty. Top with cheese and place under the grill to melt. Place the candied bacon on top of the melted cheese and close the sandwich.

Serve with the Sausage & Onion Gravy on the side.

Basic Pork Sausages

20g fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground
white pepper
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon ground
coriander
700g pork shoulder
300g pork belly

Mix together the salt, white pepper, nutmeg, mace and ground coriander.

Mince the meat on the coarse plate of your mincer and place in a non-reactive bowl. Thoroughly mix in the seasonings, then mince again through your desired plate.

Apple Ketchup

500g peeled and cored Granny Smith apples
150g fruit sugar
150ml cider vinegar
1 spice bag, made with ½ cinnamon stick, 2 cloves and 8 black peppercorns
50ml lemon juice
a pinch of Maldon sea salt flakes

Place all the ingredients in a stainless steel pan and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove the spice bag and blend the sauce to a smooth purée. Pass through a fine sieve, place in sterilized bottles or jars, and refrigerate until needed.

Pulled Pork

You will also need a smoker, 3kg of natural lump charcoal, 500g of hickory wood smoke chips, soaked in cold water and a meat thermometer

1 untrimmed boneless pork shoulder half, or a 3kg pork butt

For the dry rub
50g Maldon sea salt flakes
50g soft light brown sugar
50g fennel seeds, toasted
50g freshly ground black pepper

For the vinegar mop
250ml cider vinegar
125ml water
20ml Worcestershire sauce

Mix the dry rub ingredients together in a bowl.

Place the pork, fat side up, on a clean work surface and cut each piece in half lengthways, then place on a large baking tray. Sprinkle 150g of the dry rub all over the pork, pressing it into the meat. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Prepare your smoker and allow to burn down as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Add half the hickory chips.

Mix together the ingredients for the vinegar mop and stir in 40g of the left over dry rub.

Place the pieces of rubbed pork shoulder on racks in the smoker and cook at 105°C for at least 6 hours, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 90°C. Every hour or so, brush the meat liberally with the vinegar mop. You’ll need to top up the smoker fuel from time to time and add more hickory chips.

Remove the pork from the smoker and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Collect the juices from the smoker and pour over the top, then sprinkle with the remaining dry rub to taste and mix thoroughly.

Candied Bacon

200g bacon lardons
50ml groundnut oil
100g liquid glucose
100ml water
20g Maldon sea salt flakes

Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3.

Fry the bacon lardons over a medium heat until crisp, then set aside.

Put the sugar, groundnut oil, glucose and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Continue to cook until the mixture turns a honey colour, then add the salt.

Pour the hot caramel over the lardons and toss to coat.

Bake for 5 minutes, then toss again and turn out on to a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Sausage & Onion gravy

300g Basic Pork Sausage mix (see above), broken into small chunks
300g onions, sliced
10g butter
200ml cider
500ml Master Pork Broth (see below)
100ml double cream

First make the gravy: put the onions into a large saucepan and sweat in the butter until caramelized and golden in colour – about 20 minutes. Add half the cider and continue to sweat until the onions start to darken a little more, then add the remaining cider and reduce down.

Add the sausagemeat to the pan and continue sweating down. Add the pork broth and continue to cook until reduced by half. Add the double cream and cook at a bare simmer for 10 minutes. Reserve until needed.

Master Pork Broth
Makes 4 litres

2 onions, halved 1kg pork bones, lightly roasted
2 pork hocks
2 pig’s feet
1 smoked gammon or bacon hock
2 large carrots, halved
2 celery sticks
2 large dried shiitake mushrooms
1 head of garlic
1 faggot of fresh herbs, made with thyme, bay, rosemary and parsley
1 spice bag, made with 20 fennel seeds, 1 star anise, 2 cloves, ½ cinnamon stick,
1 small knob of fresh root ginger
250ml Madeira
250ml soy sauce
5 litres water

Blacken the cut side of the onions in a very hot dry pan. Place in a large pan with all the other ingredients and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3 hours, skimming every 30 minutes or so. The trick here is to simmer at a bare roll and skim any impurities regularly, to achieve a clean, clear broth.

Without moving the pan, turn off the heat and gently ladle the broth out of the pot through a very fine sieve, taking care not to disturb the bottom too much. Cool and reserve the master pork broth until needed.

Recipe extracted from Hog by Richard H. Turner, available here