So I had no idea I would be making burgers out of pork tenderloin this week, but I couldn’t help but try it.  I ran across a recipe from Taste of Home that used pork tenderloin as the meat in a burger.  I never thought to use it that way.  The original recipe for Tempting Pork Tenderloin Burgers uses a few ingredients I have to remove due to the gluten issue, but other than that I can make this work.  I’m excited about these because I feel like these will be good lean protein without all of the grease that comes with a standard hamburger.  I love my veggie burgers, but it’s nice to grill some meat once in a while.  I would say we are more flexitarian than anything else.  We like meat and we like vegetarian food.  It depends on the day.  So a great veggie burger for the days we want that and a great meat-based burger for the days we want meat.  Here are the original stats:

• 378 Calories
• 12g Fat
• 64mg Cholesterol
• 459mg Sodium
• 575mg Potassium
• 37g Carbohydrate
• 33g Protein
• 173% Vitamin A
• 45% Vitamin C
• 20% Calcium
• 37% Iron

These calories include a bun, which keeps this as a pretty low calorie burger.  The vitamin A is stellar, but the vitamin C could use some help.  The sodium is a bit high too, but we may have to live with it in this case because pork is typically brined.  Here is what I changed.

• I replaced the panko bread crumbs with ground old fashioned oats.
• I deleted the full fat mayonnaise.
• I deleted the burger buns to reduce the calories
• I added in some Brussels sprouts to add vitamin C.
• I replaced the arugula and spinach with spinach and carrot for vitamin A.

Here are the final stats:

• 242 Calories
• 3g Fat
• 60mg Cholesterol
• 191mg Sodium
• 438mg Potassium
• 22g Carbohydrate
• 29g Protein
• 102% Vitamin A
• 93% Vitamin C
• 9% Calcium
• 16% Iron

Here’s the final recipe:

Pork Tenderloin Burgers

Makes 4 burger patties

• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup rolled oats, ground
• 3 tablespoons dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 1 pork tenderloin (1 pound), cubed
• 1 container frozen spinach, thawed
• 12oz frozen Brussels sprouts, thawed
• 1 carrot, grated

1. Take the spinach and the Brussels sprouts and squeeze them dry in a large kitchen towel. 
2. Heat a skillet on medium heat and add the carrots, spinach and Brussels sprouts along with cooking spray.  Saute until brown.  Cool. 
3. In a large bowl, mix first four ingredients.
4. In a food processor, pulse the spinach and Brussels sprouts until finely chopped.  Add to the large bowl.
5. Add pork to the food processor.  Pulse pork until finely chopped. Add to egg white and vegetable mixture; mix lightly but thoroughly.   
6. Shape into four 1/2-in.-thick patties.  Place patties on an oiled grill rack; grill, covered, over medium heat until a thermometer reads 160°, 4-6 minutes per side. Serve in buns with whatever toppings you choose.

Note: You can also do these in the oven.  I baked these at 425F for 15 minutes.  Then I placed them under the broiler to brown them.  This was a best if you are making a lot of them and want them done at the same time.