Loco Moco with Gravy and Grilled Pineapple
Jordan Jensen and Ian Fidance come by the kitchen for a big batch of loco moco: beef patties over Spam fried rice, smothered in mushroom gravy and topped with a sunny-side-up egg, with hot-honey grilled pineapple on the side. Bert surprises Ian with the only surviving artifact from the bus fire, and the three get into panic attacks, comedians dating fans, and getting kicked off the swim team.
Beef Patties
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs ground beef 80/20
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- ½ yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp coconut cream
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 1 tsp Tabasco
- 1 tbsp chopped jalapeños, drained
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
Gravy
Ingredients
- 1½ yellow onions, finely sliced into half moons
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 16 oz crimini mushrooms, finely sliced
- 4 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2½ cups beef stock
- 1 tsp Worcestershire
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tsp cornstarch plus 1 tablespoon water (cornstarch slurry, optional)
Grilled Pineapple
Ingredients
- 1 pineapple, ripe, peeled, cored and sliced into 4-8 large spears
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp Tabasco
- 2 tbsp barbecue sauce
Spam Rice, Eggs & Garnish
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp butter
- 5 green onions, finely sliced
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 ½-inch slices Spam, finely diced into cubes
Method
Steps
- Wash rice and place in rice cooker, add water according to rice cooker instructions for 2 cups rice, set to cook.
- Make burger patty mix by adding ground beef, panko, coconut cream, onion, onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire, Tabasco and chopped jalapeños to a large mixing bowl and hand mix.
- Add egg; mix again with hands to combine.
- Shape into 3 large patties; place patties on a parchment-lined sheet tray and set them aside in the fridge.
- Start on the gravy by placing a large cast iron skillet over medium heat; melt butter.
- Add onions and sauté slowly so they soften and start to caramelize (about 8 minutes).
- Add garlic and mushrooms; continue to cook for another 6-8 minutes until mushrooms are well browned.
- Sprinkle flour into the skillet and stir through; continue to stir gently for 1-2 minutes to cook the flour.
- Add beef stock slowly, stirring or whisking to break up any clumps of flour.
- Add the Worcestershire, whole grain mustard and soy sauce; stir to combine.
- Bring to a simmer, stir well and turn heat to low; allow to reduce.
- Add Tabasco, honey and barbecue sauce to a small bowl; stir to combine.
- Drizzle mixture over the pineapple spears; use your hands to coat.
- Set aside at room temperature.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add Spam.
- Sauté 3-4 minutes, tossing and stirring until the Spam is well browned.
- Fluff the rice and add the Spam and any oil in the skillet to the rice in the rice cooker, fluff it through gently to combine.
- Check the gravy and stir well. If it's thickening up too much, turn the heat off. If it still needs to reduce, keep the heat on.
- Place pineapple spears on the grill plate, grill, turning regularly with tongs until well browned and charred spots appear on the pineapple, about 3 minutes per side.
- Set grilled pineapple aside on a plate.
- Oil the grill plate again and turn the heat up to medium high.
- When hot, add burger patties; grill 4-6 minutes per side.
- While they're grilling, check the gravy again. If it has not thickened up and reduced to a thick gravy, turn the heat up to medium and add cornstarch slurry, stir to combine and simmer until thickened.
- Remove the patties from the grill plate and allow to rest on a plate.
- Fry the sunny-side-up eggs.
- Add Spam rice to bowls, place patty, ladle gravy over, then the fried egg on top.
- Wedge a pineapple spear in the side of each bowl and garnish with green onions. Serve with extra ketchup, soy sauce and Tabasco on the side for guests to add if they choose.