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a burger, pineapple, lettuce, and cheese on a bun with sesame seeds on a pink and orange striped napkin
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Hawaiian Burger with Grilled Pineapple

A Hawaiian Burger is the most flavorful grilled burger EVER! It’s piled high with grilled pineapple, bacon or ham, and the BEST creamy BBQ sauce! If you have a big appetite make them into giant burgers, or make Hawaiian Burger Sliders for the kids!
Course Grilling, Main Dish
Cuisine American, Hawaiian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 Burgers
Calories 790kcal
Author Amy

Ingredients

For the Hawaiian Sauce

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaisse
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
  • 1 TBSP pineapple juice
  • 1/2 tsp cracked pepper

Ingredients To Make Hawaiian Burgers

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1/2 tsp season salt salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper

Toppings and other ingredients

  • 6 dinner rolls
  • 2 TBSP butter
  • 6 pineapple rings canned or fresh
  • 6 slices cheese Swiss, Mozzarella, Cheddar, etc.
  • 6 slices deli ham or cooked bacon
  • lettuce, onions, tomatoes, etc. optional

Instructions

How to make Pineapple BBQ Sauce

  • Mix BBQ sauce, mayo, and pineapple juice together. Cover. Refrigerate until needed.

How to Make Hawaiian Burgers

  • Butter insides of buns. Set aside.
  • Shape meat into patties about a 1/2 inch thick and 1/2 inch bigger in diameter than the buns. Season generously with season salt and pepper. Set aside and let come to room temperature.
  • Preheat grill to high heat.
  • Cook burgers for 7-9 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Internal temperature for medium burgers is 145 degrees or 160 for well done. For best results cook to temperature and not for a specific time.
  • While burgers are cooking grill pineapple until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
  • During the last minute of cooking add cheese to burgers, add deli ham to grill (it will heat fast since it's thin), and toast buns on the grill until golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove burgers, pineapple, ham, and buns from the grill.

Assemble Burgers

  • Top bottom half of each bun with lettuce, a burger, a pineapple ring, BBQ/Mayo sauce, and bacon or ham and other toppings you want.

Notes

GROUND BEEF: 80/20 is my favorite fat content for making burgers. 85/15 is also great. What is 80 20 beef? It means the content of the meat is 80% beef and 20% fat. Higher fat content keeps burgers juicy and gives them extra flavor. If you use leaner beef than this they burgers will be dry. Ground chuck is also ground beef, it's made with the chuck portion of the beef. 
BBQ SAUCE: Teriyaki sauce can easily be used instead of barbecue sauce. Some of my kids even like it better with barbecue sauce.
BACON or HAM: These burgers are amazing with grilled deli ham. You'll only need to grill it for a minute. It will cook quickly since it's thin. You may also use cooked bacon. I love cooking a whole batch of bacon earlier in the week and using it in recipes like this. After cooking bacon, refrigerate in an airtight container or sealable bag. When you're ready to use it line a plate with a paper towel, set bacon on the plate, microwave for a few seconds until it's hot.
PINEAPPLE: Fresh pineapple is great. Cut the skin off pineapple, core, and cut into rings. Using canned pineapple works great too, and is much easier! Plus it's easy to keep on hand in the pantry.
TO MAKE IN A SKILLET: Cast iron skillets are my favorite, but you can use any kind of skillet or even a griddle. Heat to medium-high heat. Cook for about 6-8 minutes, flipping halfway through. Don't press the burgers with a spatula as they are cooking, or the juices will run out of the burger.
HOW TO KNOW IF A BURGER IS DONE COOKING: The best way to test doneness is with a thermometer. 
  • Rare burgers - 125º (about 4-5 minutes total cooking time)
  • Medium rare burgers - 135º (about 5-6 minutes total cooking time)
  • Medium burgers - 145º (about 7-8 minutes of total cooking time)
  • Well-done burgers - 160º (about 8-10 minutes total cooking time)
 

Nutrition

Calories: 790kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 1304mg | Potassium: 677mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 354IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 256mg | Iron: 5mg