Carolina Pulled Pork Inspired Hamburgers - cooking recipe

Ingredients

5 slices smoky bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 1/2 lbs ground lean pork, at room temperature
1 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
vegetable oil, for brushing
8 slices thick-cut sandwich bread (like Texas Toast) or 4 hamburger buns
1 cup shredded green cabbage

Preparation

In a small sauce pan, fry half of the bacon pieces and the chopped onion in 1 tablespoon melted butter until the onions are golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add honey, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce and Worcestershire and simmer until the sauce thickens and slightly reduces, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
While the sauce is cooking, fry the remaining bacon pieces until crisp then drain on paper towels. In a small mixing bowl, combine both paprikas, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder and celery seeds with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
Lightly knead the ground pork with the bacon and liquid smoke (if you are using/ I didn't use) in a bowl. Loosely make 4 patties about 3/4\" thick and place on a plate covered with saran wrap. Sprinkle the spice mixture on the top, bottom and sides of burger, patting it into the meat till it sticks. Brush the spice covered burgers and both sides of the bread with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
Light your grill and brush the grate with oil once it is heated. Grill the burgers for 12 minutes, turning once, until just cooked through. Remove the burgers from direct heat and grill the bread on both sides until toasted and the grill marks appear.
Set each burger on a toast slice and top with the shredded cabbage and a generous helping of the honey-mustard sauce. Cover with the remaining toasted bread and serve immediately, passing the extra sauce separately.