My approach for creating the Hawaiian Volcano Cheeseburger was simple. While visiting the island of Oahu and enjoying everything Waikiki and Honolulu has to offer, I wanted to create a Hawaiian Island inspired cheeseburger and I came up with the idea to use a pineapple.
Just to let you know, this burger won’t be simply slicing off a piece of pineapple, throwing in on the grill, and slapping it onto a cheeseburger and calling it a Hawaiian Burger.
We are going to take a sweet and delicious tropical fruit and transform it into an amazing condiment for our Hawaiian Volcano Cheeseburger.
So with the pineapple, we are going to make a spicy pineapple bacon onion jam, pair it with a spicy chipotle mayonnaise, some habanero pepperjack cheese, delicious Island-raised ground beef, fresh veg, and wrap it up with a soft, tender, potato roll.
This is a truly an Island-inspired cheeseburger, much like our Hawaiian Style Loco Moco Cheeseburger.
Recommended Tools
- Lodge Cast Iron Skillet – https://amzn.to/3UE80bZ
- Tramontina Tri-Ply Stainless Cookware Set – https://amzn.to/4jmgbnd
- Henckels kitchen cutlery set – https://amzn.to/3YFTGAY
- Measuring Spoons (Stainless) – https://amzn.to/3ZcixOE
- Cutting Board (Maple) – https://amzn.to/3ASqNtt
- Mixing Spoons – https://amzn.to/4fNazkn
- Patty Paper Squares – https://amzn.to/40EkuED
Ingredients for the Hawaiian Volcano Cheeseburger
- Shredded lettuce
- Sliced tomato
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 or more chipotle chiles in adobo sauce finely diced
- 1/2 pineapple small dice
- 1 large yellow or white onion sliced pole to pole
- 4 to 5 clove of garlic peeled and finely diced
- 1 lb bacon divided into bacon strips and cubes
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup vinegar
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- Thinly slide jalapeños/serrano/thai chiles to taste
- 2 slices pepperjack cheese
- 7oz of ground beef
- 1 Potato roll
Directions for making the Hawaiian Volcano Cheeseburger
Prepare the spicy pineapple bacon onion jam ingredients by peeling and thinly slicing the onions, pole to pole.
Peel and small-cube 1/2 of the pineapple.
Slice the chile peppers.
In a cast iron skillet cook the strips of bacon to your preferred level of crispness. Remove and set aside. Reserve the bacon rendered bacon fat for later.
In the same skillet, cook the cubed bacon to the point right before it becomes crispy. Remove from the skillet and set aside. We will be adding it back to a skillet later in the process.
Into a skillet add some of the bacon fat.
Add the sliced onions.
Add salt and pepper
Saute until soft and beginning to caramelize (a light golden brown). You can use water, about a tablespoon at a time, to help with the caramelization process.
Add the sliced peppers and the cubed pineapple
Continue to saute until the pineapple begins to break down.
Add the brown sugar and apple cider vinegar.
Add the cooked bacon bits and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
The spicy pineapple bacon onion jam should be a deep, rich brown a develop a jammy consistency. Turn heat off and cover to keep warm.
Prepare the chipotle mayo by adding mayonnaise to a small mixing bowl. Add the diced chipotle chiles and adobo sauce to the mayonnaise and stir to combine. Set aside.
Shape the ground beef into a ball. Place the ball between two pieces of parchment paper and smash to your desired thickness.
Remove the top piece of parchment and season the patty with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
In a cast iron skillet, add about 2 tbs of the reserved bacon fat. Bring that up to temp where the bacon fat just begins to smoke. Place the beef patty seasoned side down into the cast iron skillet. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Allow the patty to cook until just a little moisture begins to build on the surface of the beef patty. Using a spatula, separate the patty from the skillet and flip it over.
Immediately add your pepperjack cheese.
Cook for about 1 - 2 minutes until the cheese begins to melt. Remove the beef patty from the skillet, place it on a plate, and allow to rest.
Wipe the skillet with a paper towel to remove excess grease.
Place your potato bun cut-side down and toast until golden brown.
Remove the bun and place on a plate.
On the inside of the top and bottom bun, add the chipotle mayo.
Place the beef patty with cheese onto the bottom bun.
Add a generous portion of the spicy pineapple bacon onion jam on top of the beef patty.
Add the cooked strips of bacon, the shredded lettuce, and sliced tomato.
Crown with the top part of the bun.
The Hawaiian Volcano Cheeseburger is messy. Be sure to have a napkin or four.