Filipino food is beginning to gain recognition and popularity in the U.S, particularly in New York City. There are several Filipino restaurants that have been featured in magazines and newspapers here in the Northeast citing that it is the “Next Great Asian Food Trend”. Recently Jeepney restaurant in NYC won the Time Out New York’s 2014 Battle of the Burger . This is my take on this Filipino style burger.

This burger is a combination of ground beef and longganisa (Philippine sausage). For this recipe I made my own longganisa by mixing 1 lb of ground pork with 1-2 tbsp. finely minced garlic, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp, ground pepper, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1-2 tsp. paprika and a splash of white vinegar. Let this cure in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.

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Instead of layering the beef and longganisa into a patty, I decided to mix the two together. Take a pound of ground beef and combine this with your longganisa that has been curing in the fridge. Mix well and form into patties. Grill until browned on both sides to your desired doneness. To make it truly Filipino I used Pan de Sal in place of traditional burger buns and Banana sauce instead of tomato ketchup.

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To assemble spread the lower half of your Pan de Sal with banana sauce, add your cooked burger patty and top with tomato and lettuce. If I had some on hand, Kesong Puti (A kind of Philippine cheese) would be a great addition to this burger.

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