Sweet and Spicy Burger With Sweet Potato Pulled Pork Poutine

Sue and I are continuing our Canada Day recipes today. Thus far we have only done sweet treats - Nanaimo Bar Rice Krispies, Maple Syrup Butter Tarts, and Baked Maple Bacon Donuts. 

We are switching things up today by including 2 savory recipes perfect for celebrating Canada Day.

A sweet and spicy burger and some crazy good poutine.

Be sure to check back again as we have one more fun and super easy Canada Day recipe post to go.

We tried to include all-things Canadian in these recipes that can, of course, be substituted with non-Canadian versions of the same. Ie: Canadian Beef and Canadian Pork and Canadian beer and Canadian cheese curds can easily be subbed with the same ingredients from your country of choice. 

Sweet Potato Pulled Pork Poutine

Ingredients

Pulled Pork

1 head garlic, peeled & broken into cloves

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried garlic

1 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp curry powder

5 lb pork roast

1 bottle Canadian beer

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Fries

3 large sweet potatoes, peeled 

3 Tbsp oil

salt & pepper

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Gravy

2 Tbsp drippings from roast

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp flour

2 cups beef broth

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

salt & pepper

Toppings

1 bag cheese curds

Directions

Prepare the Pulled Pork - Using a small knife, cut several small slits all over the roast. Take the garlic cloves and stick them randomly into the slits. 

Combine spices in a small bowl. Take the spices and rub all over the roast. Massage the spices into the meat to ensure good flavor. 

Place roast in slow cooker and pour beer over the roast.

Cook on low in slow cooker until roast is cooked - depending on your slow cooker this will take between 4 - 6 hours. (Internal temperature should be 170 - 180)

When it is done, remove from slow cooker and let sit for 15 minutes. Using 2 forks, shred roast into thin bits. Place shredded pork back into the slow cooker with the juices. Stir in the BBQ sauce. Turn on low while you prepare your fries and gravy.

Prepare the fries - Preheat oven to 400. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, set aside. Slice the peeled sweet potatoes into your favorite French fry shape. Soak the potatoes in cold water for 15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.

Take your fries and drizzle them with the oil. Sprinkle with the salt & pepper and onion & garlic powder. Toss to evenly coat. 

Spread out on prepared cookie sheet so fries are not overlapping. 

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and flip over. Return to oven until fries are tender - another 15 minutes or so.

Prepare the gravy - While your fries are cooking, stir the roast drippings in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic powder and the flour until you have a paste like substance. Slowly stir in the beef broth, a little at a time until you have a very thick gravy. Add more stock until it is just runny enough but not completely liquid. 

Let simmer 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire and salt & pepper.

Assemble the poutine - Place a good amount of fries on a serving platter. Top with a generous amount of  the pulled pork. Sprinkle liberally with the cheese curds.

Finally, top with a ridiculous amount of gravy. (There is no way this is going to be healthy for you so you might as well indulge!) FYI - You can make this easier by using frozen fries and packaged gravy. 

And, of course, the burger would not be complete without some Canadian Beer Candied Bacon:

Canadian Beer Candied Bacon

Ingredients

1 lb thick cut bacon

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup Canadian beer

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil. Place a cooling rack on top of the tinfoil. Lay out the bacon on the cooling rack so it is not overlapping. 

In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar and beer. Using a pastry brush or basting brush, baste the bacon with some of the beer syrup.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and baste again. Flip bacon over and baste again. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes. Repeat this 2 to 4 more times, until bacon is crispy. 

Remove from oven, remove from the sticky cooling rack to a clean cooling rack sprayed with cooking spray or else it will stick.

Now for the Sweet and Spicy Burger:

Sweet & Spicy Burger

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup onions, finely diced

1/4 cup Panko crumbs

1 egg

salt & pepper

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

1 Tbsp prepared mustard

2 Tbsp BBQ sauce

4 hamburger buns

Toppings

Canadian Beer Candied bacon (recipe above)

tomatoes, sliced

onion, sliced

Monterey Jalapeno Jack cheese, sliced

Directions

Combine the 8 ingredients listed above for the burgers in a bowl. Mix well with your hands until well combined. Make into 4 even sized patties.

Preheat your grill for about 5 - 6 minutes on high heat. 

Place the patties on the grill and turn heat down to low. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, until burgers are nicely browned on the bottom. Flip burgers over and cook for another 10 minutes, until burgers are cooked through.

(These can also be cooked in the oven - simply preheat oven to 450. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place the patties on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes, flip over, continue baking until burgers are done - about another 10 - 15 minutes. (It is best to use a meat thermometer to determine when beef is cooked)

Place on bun and top with the jalapeno cheese, Canadian candied bacon, and other toppings. 

Together these combine to make the best meal EVER for Canada Day!

I'm still drooling from having this the other day. 

It's happening again for Canada Day...and then, after that, again and again and again.....

Be sure to visit My Turn (for us)  and Carole's Chatter for some great links!