Ingredients:
6 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and soaked
2 teaspoons crumbled dried marjoram
2 teaspoons crumbled dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 small white onion, chopped
¾ cup sweetened pineapple juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds extra-lean ground pork
Vegetable oil
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into ½-inch-thick rounds
½ cup mayonnaise
8 sesame seed hamburger buns
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions:
- Drain the chiles and put them in a blender with the marjoram, oregano, garlic, one-fourth of the chopped onion, and the pineapple juice, and puree until smooth. Season the marinade generously with salt and pepper.
- Put the pork in large bowl and pour the marinade on top. Using a wooden spoon, mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Divide the pork mixture into 8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 1/2-inch-thick patty. Oil the grill pan. Working in batches, grill the burgers until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer the burgers to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Let rest for about 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, brush the grill pan with a little more oil and grill the pineapple slices until golden brown, 2 minutes per side.
- Spread mayonnaise on the cut sides of each bun and warm on the grill pan for 2 minutes.
- Top the bottom of each bun with a burger, a slice of grilled pineapple, some cilantro, and some of the remaining chopped onion. Cover with the bun tops and serve.
Tortas de Milanesa were often the afterschool comida for my sister, Carina, my brother, Antonio, and myself. Milanesa, just like it sounds, comes from the Italian milanese and is identical in the sense that it’s a thinly pounded, breaded, and pan-fried cut of meat. The technique, brought over by European immigrants, was taken and incorporated into one very Mexican dish, the torta. These sandwiches, made with crusty bolillo rolls, can be stuffed with just about anything you can imagine. My mom would put these on the table with pickled jalapeños and canned chipotles in adobo. Sometimes she would make me one for lunch and I’d smash Doritos between the bread and the meat for some extra crunch.
