Smoky Pork Burgers With Fennel and Red Cabbage Slaw Recipe (2024)

The pork burgers were excellent with the naughty addition of bacon(!), but I was disappointed with the fennel/cabbage slaw. Just not very tasty. And I had fresh-from-the-garden fennel to use.

I happened to have Napa cabbage on hand and it worked quite well, with enough crunch, and also happened to have hot spoked paprika which also worked well, although the other flavors may have shined brighter if I used smoked as was called for. This recipe will be a staple for weeknight cooking.

These are a family favorite. I used a 4oz package of diced pancetta instead of bacon for ease of prepping. I took inspiration from Mark Bittman's pork burger recipe and topped these with orange slices along with the slaw. I also served these on pretzel buns, which held up well with this substantial burger.

There aren't many NYT recipes that have been total failures, but this one was. Well... okay... the coleslaw was good, but the burger was not good.

Question: is grill time 3 minutes hot, flip, 3 minutes, hot, 3 minutes coil?

Cut back on Fennel and Spanish paprika. Didn't need to. The burgers can handle all the spices and add-ons that are in the recipe. Delicious.

These were great. Based on comments I used 2 t. of fennel and ground with a mortar. No bacon, just did not feel like we needed that. Served on WFM brioche bun and Sir Kensington’s special sauce. Used a slightly different slaw recipe. Green cabbage, fennel, green apple, 1/4 red onion, cider vinegar, honey and canola, some cilantro. Really great and easy meal.

Too fatty with that bacon, the slaw did not work, Italian sausage would have been equivalent with much less work. If include bacon, could use ground turkey.

The slaw was so acidic we couldn’t taste the vegetables.

Many things going for this recipe, but while preparing I was concerned about quantity/type of salt in directions. Kosher salt needs to be added in larger amounts, it is not equivalent to table/sea salt. I thought maybe all that bacon would be sufficiently salty but with a half tsp of kosher salt the burgers were under salted. Definitely need to add more! Otherwise delicious.

I agree to sub pancetta for the bacon for a nice italian flavor, but it also works great with a nice smokey bacon! I also use Fennel pollen in the meat mix and it really adds a nice depth to the heated fennel seeds. This recipe is always a crowd pleaser!

I would cook this on the stove top next time. They were way too fatty (bacon!) to cook on my grill and managing flare ups was a challenge. Will try again in a pan (I have 2 burgers in the freezer). I thought they were good but I'm surprised by the 5 star ratings.

My guests suggested that a good Italian sausage would have been a better choice and simpler to make. The 2 tablespoons of fennel seeds overwhelmed the pork and the bacon. Won’t bother making this again.

The slaw was very underwhelming and the dressing seemed unbalanced and not very tasty. If you make this recipe I would recommend trying other additions to the burgers. Also, seems like a lot of fennel seed. Mark Bittman's recipe uses much less..

Good. regular paprika--bacon makes it smoky enough. No fennel. My spicy coleslaw. Maybe a once a year meal.

Pancetta not baconOtherwise cooked as written on grillAdded extra mustard and some Mayo to the slaw

The slaw seems to be the issue based on most comments, so I used Nigella's New Orleans Coleslaw, my go-to coleslaw recipe, for the slaw. Wonderful combination, and complements the light and flavourful pork burger. This coleslaw can be adapted by adding chopped coriander including stems, fresh jalapenos, more celery for extra crunchiness, fennel or other to flavour. Made this burger one of my new favourites.

Definitely add aioli with harissa or sriracha. (Paprika was not hot enough).Used Melissa D’Arabians fennel slaw recipe.Made 4 huge burgers, froze half for an easy dinner the 2nd time.Great on a brioche bun.