A Pic-a-nic Lunch of Pork Burgers With Creamy Parmesan Pasta Salad

Finally!  A nice weekend to sit out on the patio with a good drink and an even better lunch!  Nice weather like we're having this weekend always makes me think of picnics.  The gathering of friends and family to catch up in the great outdoors; the games of badminton, bocce and lawn darts we played (I was a mean badminton player in my youth); but most importantly, the food!  My stepfather would always fire up the grill and throw on the classic picnic foods - hot dogs, barbecue chicken breasts, corn on the cob and my favorite, cheeseburgers.  There's just something about a good, juicy burger on a nice bun with the right fixin's and the classic sides of potato salad, corn on the cob, pasta salad and garden salad that mom would put together in the kitchen that makes me a happy guy.  Our family picnics always bring back happy memories for me.

As much as I would have loved to have had a picnic of my own this weekend to begin creating those same memories with Shaun and our friends who are like our second families, things just don't always fall in to place.  However, that didn't stop Shaun and I from sitting out on the patio with a cold vodka lemonade or beer and a lunch of my favorite picnic foods.  I didn't just throw a burger on the grill, though.  This is me, after all.  I had to do something to twist it just a little bit.  I put a spin on the the classic burger by making a pork burger with bacon and sage and kicked up the traditional pasta salad with my own creamy Parmesan dressing.  A perfect lunch of Perfect Pork Burgers With Creamy Parmesan Pasta Salad.

Perfect Pork Burgers

• 5 slices of bacon
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 pound ground pork
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• Ground black pepper
• 4 potato buns or rolls, split
• 1/8 of a cup creamy Parmesan dressing (recipe follows)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Tomato slices
• 1 head of Romain lettuce, torn
• Red onion slices

 Creamy Parmesan Pasta Salad

• 1/2 lb of bow tie pasta, or any pasta you like
• 1 cup cubed ham
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, blanched
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup fresh grated Parmesan
• Salt and pepper to taste

First things, first.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta per the directions on the package.  I used a bow tie pasta of sorts, but wagon wheels, rigatoni, elbows, shells, penne or even tortellini would work just as well. Once done, drain, run under cold water and transfer to a large bowl.

For the ham, I get one slice of 1/2 inch thick ham from the deli at my local grocery store and cube it myself.  (This will often generate more than a cup, especially if its a larger piece of ham.  Feel free to toss a little more in, or save the rest as it goes really nice on top of a salad!)  Toss in to the bowl with the pasta along with the shredded carrots, blanched frozen peas (see instructions for blanching below), red onion and red bell pepper.  Lastly, toss in your shredded cheddar cheese.  If you prefer more of a meaty pasta salad and less of a cheesy one, swap the shredded cheddar for a half cup of cooked and crumbled bacon.

Blanching Vegetables

To blanch the peas, or any vegetable, place them in a pot of boiling water until they are bright in color and tender-crisp, usually a minute to a minute and a half.  Then drain them immediately and place them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, allowing them to retain their crispness and not become soggy or mushy. 

For the creamy Parmesan dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, garlic and Parmesan with a little salt and pepper to taste.  Whisk until smooth and creamy, will all ingredients incorporated.  Set aside 1/8 cup of the dressing for the burgers and dress the pasta salad with the rest.  Toss to coat and season with a little more salt and pepper to taste.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for up to 3 hours while you prepare and cook the burgers.

While the pasta salad chills, prep your burgers.  Start by pulsing the uncooked bacon and clove of garlic in a food processor until coarsely ground.  Combine the ground pork, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper, onion powder and the sage in a large mixing bowl.  Add the bacon mixture and gently mix with your hands.  Form the meat into 4 balls, then gently press into 4-inch-wide, 1-inch-thick patties.  You should end up with 4 burgers.  Make sure to make a 2-inch-wide indentation with your thumb into the center of each patty to prevent the burgers from bulging in the center.  This will also help them cook much more evenly.

Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium heat.  Lightly season the patties with a little more pepper.  Place them on the grill and cook WITHOUT TOUCHING THEM or pressing down on them until marked on the bottom, about 5-6 minutes.  Flip them once and continue to grill, again without pressing them until the other side is marked and the patties are firm, about 4-5 more minutes.  When there is about 1-2 minute left, evenly divide the shredded cheddar to the tops of the burgers.  You should NEVER press a burger during cooking, as it will force all of the juices out of the burger, drying it out so you'll be left with a nice little hockey puck.  Touch a burger of any kind as little as possible during cooking to end up with a juicy and delicious, evenly cooked patty.

Meanwhile, while the burgers are cooking, keep yourself busy to resist touching them by slicing the tomato, lettuce and onion to top them off.  Then spread a little of the reserved creamy Parmesan dressing from the pasta salad on the cut side of the bottom of each bun.  Place the patties on the buns and top with the classic fixin's.

So there you have it.  A nice summery picnic food lunch to enjoy for your next cookout.  The bacon in the pork burger gives a little fat and flavor to the lean meat.  The homemade dressing on the pasta salad will give a creamy texture that no store bought dressing will give it.  Just be sure to eat AFTER your badminton game... moving around like that after eating ends poorly for everyone!