The coals are sizzling, the margaritas are flowing, and I’m gearing up for a day’s worth of grilling and chilling poolside in my hometown of San Diego this Fourth of July holiday. We’re cooking up hot dogs and brats, and kicking regular cheeseburgers to the curb in favor of Asian Barbecue Pork Burgers topped with quick-fix homemade slaw.

Ground pork subs in for classic shredded pork in this Asian-inspired take on ‘cue that stars Chinese Five Spice Powder and sweet and tangy hoisin. And while I’m all for making your own barbecue sauce, there’s something to be said for doctoring your favorite store-bought version (re: less time cooking = more time lounging).

Pile the patties and slaw atop toasted, barbecue-brushed buns, and don’t forget the ultimate celebratory grand finale: Patriotic Pavlova with Watermelon Stars. Who needs fireworks when you’re dishing out such a star-studded caloric lineup?

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Asian Barbecue Pork Burgers with Slaw

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 2 hrs (includes marinating)

Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

For Slaw:

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
One (½-pound) wedge purple cabbage, cored and finely shredded
¼ cup chopped scallions (green parts only)

For Burgers:

¼ cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup store-bought barbecue sauce (See Kelly's Notes)
1½ pounds ground pork
2 teaspoons Chinese Five Spice Powder
4 buns, halved and toasted

Directions:

Make Slaw:

In a large bowl, whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar and vegetable oil. Add the cabbage and scallions to the bowl and toss thoroughly until well coated. Cover and refrigerate a minimum of 2 hours.

Make Burgers:

In a small bowl, whisk together the hoisin and barbecue sauce. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the pork, Five Spice and 3 tablespoons of the hoisin-barbecue sauce mixture. Mix the ingredients together with your hands and then shape the meat into 4 equal-sized patties.

Heat and lightly oil a grill or grill pan. Cook the burgers on one side for 6 minutes, then flip, brush with the hoisin-barbecue sauce and continue cooking until cooked throughout.

Brush any remaining sauce on cut-side of bun then sandwich patties and coleslaw between buns.

Kelly's Notes:

While any store-bought barbecue sauce will work, hoisin's sweeter flavor is balanced out best by a slightly tangier barbecue sauce.

The less you condense the meat while making the patties, the better. Compact, dense patties means tougher burgers.

Hoisin sauce is considered a "dry" ingredient and should be measured as such. As a general rule, any ingredient that can be leveled off (i.e. sour cream, honey, ketchup, etc.) should be measured in a dry measuring cup.

Burger recipe inspired by Gourmet.