TURKEY BURGERS back to home
4 servings
OK, I confess to watching Oprah from time to time. Spring of 2008 she was having a food orgasm over a turkey burger that she had recently at one of Donald Trumps private clubs. The Donald and the burger chef came on the show and made these and the audience got to taste and everyone swooned. So i went to her site and got the recipe and tweaked it a little- mostly left out the celery and added coarse grated onion. The preparation and cooking directions are straight out of that recipe and were perfect. They also called for some fancy chutney condiment- which i omitted. The subtle flavors of the turkey burger would be masked, in my humble opinion, by strong condiment use. Turkey and mayo sounded like a pretty good combo- so i opted for a light spread of the old standby( with just a little bit of chutney mixed in) on the bun. Oprah was right- these are good burgers!
1.25 # ground turkey breast
4 scallions- white and light green parts- thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith apple -peeled and fine diced
1/4 cup coarse grated sweet onion and it’s juices- i use a microplaner
1 T lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
2 T Major Grey’s chutney- pureed*
3 T parsley fine chopped
6 shakes tabasco- about 1/2 t
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1 t fresh ground black pepper
1 t fresh ground black pepper
olive oil
4 buns
mayo with a little chutney mixed in
lettuce
thin cheddar or swiss cheese slices (optional)
red onion slices
or- condiments of your choosing.
Saute the onions and apples in a little olive oil until tender- Set aside and let cool.
Add the turkey and remaining ingredients into a mixing bowl- add the sauteed items and mix well.
Shape into 4 burgers and refrigerate for at least 2 hours- this step is very important- you don’t want your turkey burger falling apart on the grill.
Mix mayo with some chutney about a 4:1 ratio- refrigerate for later use as a condiment for the burger
Prepare your grill. Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper and brush both sides generously with olive oil.
When the coals are ready lightly oil the grill top. When the grill top is heated up put the burgers on direct heat and cook for 7 minutes on each side or until the meat is cooked through. The sugars in the apple will blacken the burgers some- just move it to a part of the grill with less heat. Topping with cheese is a nice way to cover up the real black parts. The last minute you can add the optional cheese and put the lid on to hasten the melting. Let the burgers rest for a few minutes before serving
* If you can afford it- Stonewall Kitchen’s Old Farmhouse Chutney is very good.
Food for thought
As the eat-local food movement continues to grow, be prepared to see more of its close cousin, the low-carbon diet: An eating plan that seeks to limit high-impact foods like beef and cheese in an effort to lower overall carbon emissions. Then there's a little thing called methane. It's a greenhouse gas that is, pound for pound, about 23 times more effective a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. It's also something that cattle make, in abundance. Minnesota is the largest turkey producer in the world so it makes sense for us living in Minnesota to take advantage of that and the environmental impact of eating local foods with a lower carbon footprint. So, in our house we are not going to eliminate the juicy beef burger entirely, but the turkey burger has got our attention and will be a frequent grill choice.
