Apple Butter-Pork Burger With Acorn Squash Purée – Hiland Dairy

Apple Butter-Pork Burger With Acorn Squash Purée

With fall just around the corner, we’re loving this Apple Butter-Pork Burger With Acorn Squash Purée recipe from our friends at Dairy Good. This recipe is sure to warm up you family on a chilly fall evening.

Apple Butter-Pork Burger With Acorn Squash Purée

apple-butter-pork-burger-with-acorn-squash-puree-recipe

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds reduced-fat ground pork (4% fat)
  • 6 whole grain English muffins, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons apple butter
  • 1/2 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
  • 1/2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • 2 cups fresh arugula
  • 6 slices smoked gouda
  • 1 acorn squash
  • 1/2 cup Hiland Dairy 1% Milk or Hiland Dairy Fat Free Lactose Free Milk
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Halve and seed the squash and cut into large chunks. Season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and roast on a cookie sheet for 30 minutes, or until a fork comes clean out of the squash. In a mixing bowl, combine the pork, apple butter, sage and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix together and form into 6 equal patties. Once the squash has cooled enough to touch, spoon the meat from the skin. Place into a food processor with milk and 1 teaspoon of thyme. Blend until smooth.

Cook the burgers over a hot grill to desired doneness, flipping only once. Assemble the burgers: layer the arugula onto the bottom of the English muffins, place the burger on top, add the cheese slices and finish with a generous spread of the squash purée. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Tips and Tricks:

  • Double the batch of purée and offer it as a creamy, lactose-friendly side to dinners throughout the week. Or, stir extra purée into a pot of hot pasta as a simple sauce.
  • To make the purée more savory than sweet, add a couple teaspoons of ancho chili powder or one smoked chipotle pepper before you purée the acorn squash.
  • Applesauce would also work with the burger, in place of the apple butter.

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