Carolina Burger

The inspiration for this comes from the Deelite Diner in Grand Haven, Michigan. During the 2019 Overbey family vacation Kendra and both ate this burger and were thoroughly impressed. With our 2020 being cancelled I decided I would recreate the Carolina Burger at home.  The pulled pork and burgers are Smokey Bey BBQ creations.  For the Pimento Cheese I had some help from 17th Street Barbecue’s “Praise The Lard” and for the Carolina Mustard Sauce I had some help from Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ Book.

This recipe will involve some effort.  Luckily I freeze pulled pork leftovers so that component was previously take care of.

Ingredients:

1 lb prepared pulled pork

6 Pretzel Hamburger Buns

Burgers:

2 lbs ground hamburger

4 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 Tablespoons Famous Dave’s Steak & Burger rub 

Mix the burger, Worcestershire sauce, and rub. Pat into 1/3 lb patties, when done making the patties place in the refrigerator until time to place them on the grill.

Pimento Cheese

4 oz diced pimentos

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

1/4 finely chopped scallions

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Cholula

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

Mix the pimento cheese ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. To best allow the flavors to combine it is best to make the cheese a day in advance.

Carolina Mustard  Sauce 

3/4 cup prepared yellow mustard

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons ketchup

1 Table spoon Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Cholula

Mix the mustard sauce in a medium size mixing bowl.  Again, this recipe is also best if given a little bit of time to age.  I’d suggest making it a few days before making the Carolina Burgers.

No, this “warm” July day will not provide the necessary heat to cook these burgers, so let’s fire up that grill.  You will need to prep the grill for direct grilling at about 400 degrees. Fill your chimney starter (please don’t use lighter fluid), and lets get this party started! When the coals are ready dump them and let the grill get to the desired temperature.

When the grill is ready arrange the patties on the grill. To reheat my pull pork I created and aluminum foil “boat that I could place in the grill with the burgers. When the burgers reach 160F they are safe to eat.  Just a couple of minutes before the burgers are removed from the grill you should spoon your desired amount of pimento cheese onto the burgers.

Now it’s time to finish the creation. Place the burger on the bun bottom. Arrange 1/2 cup of pulled pork on top of the burger and then drizzle with Carolina mustard sauce. At this point it is time to enjoy the effort!





WHOA! These Carolina Burgers were phenomenal and totally worth the effort!

When finished I expect that you will have leftovers. Luckily each of these recipes can be enjoyed separately. The Carolina Mustard Sauce is a favorite condiment in the Overbey household and will keep in the refrigerator up to two weeks.

I hope you all enjoyed this one.  If you decide to give it a try let me know.  To say that I’m bummed that we didn’t travel to Grand Haven this summer is an understatement. Hopefully next year we will return and I can let someone else cook for me while I enjoy time with my family. But for now this satisfied a a craving and helped me to enjoy our staycation.