I took the day off yesterday. I didn’t blog or comment – heck, I didn’t even work the entire day. After lunch my poor, tired brain said “%#$! this!” and I went and got a hair cut, then treated myself a manicure and a pedicure. If I’d had the time and funds, I’d have gone clothes shopping, too.
I really, really needed all of that.
We also had Jolly and The G Man over for dinner last night, which I also needed. There’s nothing like a good dose of grandson to cheer a weary Meema up, I must say. We’d decided to grill burgers and serve them some sweet potato salad, on the premise that it would be a simple dinner. Except I’d had an idea rolling around in my head for, well, years really, and decided it was a good time to make the idea a reality.
If you ask me, Beloved, Oldest Son, Darling Daughter and The Young One what our Top 10 Favorite Films are, I can guarantee you that Pulp Fiction would be on each of our lists. It’s the film that vaulted John Travolta back into big-time fame, made Quentin Tarantino an A-list director and made me absolutely fall in love with Samuel L. Jackson. Roger Ebert once said the film was all about redemption, and I agree with that. Jules is my favorite character in the entire movie, and I love the fact that while he’s a Bad Ass Motherfucker, his redemption is also the most profound.
And I’ve wanted a Big Kahuna Burger ever since.
Despite the long list of ingredients, it was a simple dinner – these burgers come together really quickly, especially if you fry the bacon and plantains, and make the spicy sauce ahead of time. I didn’t put cheese on mine, but the rest of the family did so if you want to, a nice pepper cheese would probably be good. There’s also no lettuce on them, but that’s mostly because I had no large leaf lettuce in the house, so knock yourself out with some iceberg or butter lettuce if you like. You can also serve them on a bun, if you must, but even without it, this is still a tasty burger.
Note: This is not low calorie, low carb, or low fat. It is in no way, shape, form or fashion “diet” food, but it was made with grass-fed beef, the Better Than Miracle Whip was, of course, made with pastured eggs and all of the fruits and vegetables were as organic and sustainably raised as I could manage.
And sometimes, that’s good enough.
Big Kahuna Burger
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/3 cup fresh pineapple juice
- 1/3 cup wheat-free tamari or soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 6 thick slices pineapple
- 6 thick slices bacon
- 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
- 6 thick slices tomato
- 1 medium plantain
- 1 tablespoon ghee or butter
- 1/2 cup Better Than Miracle Whip
- 1/4 cup Asian chili sauce (Sriracha)
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
- In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the ground beef, ginger, pineapple juice, tamari, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Pat into 6 patties; cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Cut the bacon slices in half and fry until crisp. Drain on a paper towel; keep warm and set aside.
- Melt the ghee or butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Slice the plantain on the bias into 12 pieces and fry until golden brown on each side. Remove from the heat, but keep warm, and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the Better Than Miracle Whip with the Sriracha and cilantro. Cover and set aside.
- Grill the burgers on a gas or charcoal grill using indirect heat, until medium – about 7 minutes per side. Grill the pineapple slices alongside the burgers over direct heat until golden with nice grill marks, about 3 to 4 minutes per side.
- Serve the burgers with the pineapple, plantain, bacon, onion, tomato and spicy sauce.
- Nutrition (per serving): 670 calories, 46.6g total fat, 136.6mg cholesterol, 1670.1mg sodium, 967.3mg potassium, 27.6g carbohydrates, 2.7g fiber, 16.7g sugar, 38.4g protein
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24 comments
Uuummmm, this IS a tasty burger!
Good for you taking the day off and getting pampered! You so deserved the break.
And now I’m sort of regretting stopping by here before heading out to do my semi-monthly grocery shopping, because you have made me hungry in a big way. And you know it’s not a good idea to go food shopping when you’re hungry. And drooling.
But now I’ll be adding the ingredients to my list, I think this is going to have to be added to my weekend menu planning. 
Tuesday was my day to stay home from work and do whatever the hell I wanted, which was paint. IT WAS AWESOME!
I would save this for a special occasion, but damn, that looks good!
I’m glad you took some time off. Sanity comes first! : )
WHAT DOES MARCELLUS WALLACE LOOK LIKE ?!?!
What?
Say WHAT one more time! I DOUBLE-DARE ya!
W-w-what?
“What” ain’t no country I ever heard of – do they speak English in “What”??
Sometimes you just need a you-day!
…and man oh man, I haven’t had a burger in a while, and this looks like just the sort of deluxe burger to get me back into the habit. : D
“6 thick slices bacon”
No man, I don’t eat pork. I ain’t Jewish, I just don’t dig on swine, that’s all.
Not only are our pigs pastured, they are exceedingly charming. So we’re good.
Now THAT is a burger.
[...] Ever watch Pulp Fiction and find yourself ravenous because Samuel L. Jackson makes his burger look so dang good, only to realize dejectedly that you’re Primal and don’t eat buns? Try the bunless Big Kahuna burger. [...]
[...] Ever watch Pulp Fiction and find yourself ravenous because Samuel L. Jackson makes his burger look so dang good, only to realize dejectedly that you’re Primal and don’t eat buns? Try the bunless Big Kahuna burger. [...]
“Do you mind if I have some of your tasty beverage to wash this down?”
Hello.
I found your blog via a few clicks while researching Paleo/Primal recipes. I am already planning to make some of the recipes that you list here… and then I come upon this! A Pulp-Fiction quoting, Paleo/Primal Big Kahuna burger eating, Grandmother.
I may swoon.
Bless you!, Bless you!
This recipe is ridicules! Tasty but there is no way the burger will stay together with all that liquid in it. I am angry to have wasted a pound (only made a half recipe) of grass fed beef!
I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you! Did you reduce the pineapple juice and tamari, since you used half the beef? If so, how much did you use? About 3 tablespoons of each should have worked for 1 pound of meat. And again, my apologies; I’m not sure what went wrong for you.
I know this comment is months late but I wanted to cancel out that other person’s unnecessarily rude comment. This is the best recipe I’ve ever tried. No Joke. When I was mixing the beef I was also a little concerned about the patties staying together due to the volume of liquid but they turned out great! My non-paleo boyfriend said (with his most serious face) that this is this best thing he’s ever eaten. You Rock!!!
Heather – what a lovely compliment! Thank you so much. I’m so glad you and your non-paleo other half enjoyed this; we love it too.
[...] Ever watch Pulp Fiction and find yourself ravenous because Samuel L. Jackson makes his burger look so dang good, only to realize dejectedly that you’re Primal and don’t eat buns? Try the bunless Big Kahuna burger. [...]
[...] article: why a daily movements is as essential as water recipe: big kahuna burgers [...]
[...] hope you all had a lovely weekend; as you can see, the Big Kahuna Burger made Mark Sisson’s Weekend Link Love which, I must confess, made my day. It’s not the [...]