The Kentucky State Fair is being held in Louisville this week. My husband and I plan to visit on Friday. I am super excited! When I was a kid, my grandparents used to take my siblings and I every year. We would have a group discussion about when we should go- the beef cattle week or the dairy cattle week. (There are many points to consider here. 1) We grow beef cattle. Do we really want to see what we know already? 2) What other animals are there this same week? Pigs? Fowl? Goats? Sheep? Mules and horses? 3) What did we see last year? There are other points but you get the idea.) We would get up really early and make the two hour drive to the fairgrounds. Then we would meander around for hours, looking at all the exhibits. Some of them twice. On the way home, we would discuss the whole experience and each try to pick out our favorite part of the day. This usually occupied us until we got home or we fell asleep.
Food was also a big point of consideration. Under the food tent are so many things that need careful consideration. Which to choose – pork or beef or catfish or mutton from their local producers? Do we leave room for the Erhler’s ice cream later in the afternoon? My grandfather usually picked a rib eye steak sandwich while my grandmother chose a pork burger. In honor of these precious memories, I decided a pork burger would be a nice change from our usual beef burger. The texture of a pork burger is somewhat different. The meat is more tender and less grainy in texture. The pork is a more subtle flavor that can be easily complimented with spices, such as the cumin I used here.
Pork Burgers with Peppers and Onions (from Martha Stewart)
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- Coarse salt and ground pepper
- 4 slices Pepper Jack cheese
- 4 toasted buns
Prepare your charcoal grill to medium high heat. In a bowl, combine the pork with the cumin. Form into 4 patties. Make a foil packet to hold the onions, peppers, and the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Grill the burgers until the juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side (maybe a bit longer depending on how hot your grill is). Grill the veggie packet until the veggies are tender. On the toasted buns, add a burger. Top with a slice of cheese and a good amount of the peppers and onions. Use other condiments if desired (I used mayo). Serves 4.
AnnaShortcakes 
I love how food taps into precious memories… just one bite can take you back to moments that you shared with someone, however long ago it might have been 🙂 This pork burger looks delicious. I’ve never actually eaten pork in a burger but I think I need to change that! Love the spices.
You do need to try them! So good!
I hope you both have a wonderful visit to the state fair! Your pork burger looks delicious, especially with the colorful peppers. I love pepper jack cheese, which I don’t use nearly enough on our grilled burgers!
We had a great time. Thanks for commenting on the post. I love pepper jack cheese too. It adds so much pizzazz.
I love the fair and, like you, have been going since I was a kid. Though I must say I miss the old days when the denturists and political organizations and eyeglass cleaners and knife vendors and religious organizations and jewelry sellers were all jumbled up together. You never knew what you were going to come upon next and it was often funny who might have been set up right next to one another! Now, everything is so separated out (plus the vendors are mostly just redneck horrible). Hope you have a great visit on Friday!
We saw all kinds of great junk booths- 4 Dish Network booths, 2 stretchy lid booths, all the random cell phone case/belt buckle booths. All kinds of Confederate flag memorabilia. It was fun watching all the people too. I love how people who don’t live in the country try to imitate us with designer boots and cutsie dresses. We had great fun!