Praise be to the cow, but let's not make the mistake of thinking it's the only animal capable of producing a good burger. Any meat can go through a grinder, and by all means, most should. Lamb, bison, and salmon are all worthy. But using nomenclature as a guide, pork is the meat that should be next in line behind beef. We are talking about hamburgers here, after all.

There's only one hurdle in making a non-beef burger, and that’s the hurdle of sourcing. Common meat counters tend to grind cow and cow only, which means you’ll have to ask the man or woman in the butcher’s apron to grind you some pig—ham, pork shoulder, whatever you want. That's it. Simple. If your request is met with a smirk, do not be deterred. You will be vindicated as soon as you hear the sweet sizzle of patties hitting the grill.

For this burger, I turned to Grill This, Not That!, published by Men's Health editors and fast becoming my go-to source for grilling inspiration. (See the book's stuffed pork chops here.) By all measures, the flavors in this burger balance perfectly: the spice of sriracha counters the sweetness of hoisin, and the acid of homemade pickles cuts through the richness of the pork. Try it out and you'll never think about a burger the same way again.

Spicy Asian Pork Burgers
Recipe from Grill This, Not That! by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding

What you'll need:
½ English cucumber
½ cup rice wine vinegar
Salt to taste
1 lb ground pork
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp sriracha
4 sesame-seed buns, lightly toasted
¼ cup hoisin sauce

How to make it:
1. Make the pickles by combining the cucumber, vinegar, and a few pinches of salt in a bowl or jar. Set aside.

2. Preheat the grill over medium heat. Combine the pork, garlic, ginger, and scallions. Gently shape into patties, season with salt, and grill for about 5 minutes on each side.

3. Combine the mayonnaise and sriracha and spread on the bottom buns. Spread the top buns with hoisin and then sandwich the two halves around the burger with pickles. Makes 4 burgers. 

Via: Make Your Next Burger From Pork