Turkey Burgers

A delicious cast iron seared turkey burger served with with your favorite toppings and the addition of a smoky thousand island sauce!

If you have never tried a turkey burger and are leery of it I think we can help

In fact I know we can!

We use ground turkey in a lot of our recipes here on the blog and so we know how to coax a ton of flavor out of this leaner meat

Trust me… bite into one of our turkey burgers and you will be a believer!

We like to use large batches of product to save money.  For instance we are using a 3 pound family pack of ground turkey so we will get some extra for another day.  Obviously you can scale back

To start, we will need 1 cup of plain bread crumbs (more if needed for binding the meat), 1/2 cup of ketchup, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce, 1 tablespoon of Gravy Master, 2 eggs (whisked), 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt and ground black pepper

Add the breadcrumbs, eggs, salt and pepper to the meat

To a bowl add the ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, Gravy master and dijon together and whisk to combine

I take this extra step because if I mix these prior to adding to the meat I will get a more even distribution of the flavors….rather then some ketchup over here and some dijon over there

    Add this to the meat

Using your hands gently fold all of the ingredients together until mixed well but not overworked. You don’t want a tough burger

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper that was lightly sprayed with cooking oil

I’m making 6 ounce burgers so in order to keep them even I’m using a 3/4 measuring cup

Fill the measuring cup and dump the meat mixture out onto the parchment

Roll the meat and press into a patty

I know I mentioned we are using a family pack of turkey meat but for the sake of this particular blog we are going to work with four burgers… if making more just repeat the cooking process

By the way if your burger isn’t a perfect circle don’t sweat it… they will taste just as good!

Make a small indent in each patty

Why do I need to make an indent?

As a burger cooks and renders out it’s fat it tends to want to swell up.  We have all seen the dome burgers at cookouts.  The indent helps the burger maintain its shape during cooking… remember these are patties not meatballs

For extra flavor I like to drizzle each burger with some extra Worcestershire Sauce and a sprinkle of salt and pepper

Since I have been man handling the meat it has warmed up, making it softer. So let’s chill the burgers for 20-30 minutes in the fridge prior to cooking

While we are waiting why don’t we make a topping for this burger which, well,  excuse the pun, will take it over the top!

Let’s make a simple and smoky thousand island sauce

We will need 1 cup of mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 2 tablespoons of pickle relish (or chopped pickles) and 1 tablespoons of chilis in adobo

What are chilis in adobo?

Chilis in adobo can be found in the Mexican part of most grocery stores.  They are smoked and dried jalapenos that are rehydrated in a tangy tomato based sauce.  When we buy a can we immediately blend it into a puree and store in a mason jar in the refrigerator.  This smoky and spicy sauce is a great add in to salsas, ketchup, tarter sauce and more!

Like the sauce we are about to make!

Add all of the ingredients together in a bowl and whisk to combine.  Refrigerate until you’re ready to use

Okay, the burgers have been chilling, the special sauce has been made, now it’s time to cook!

Preheat your oven to 350 F

Turkey has to be cooked through so I’m going to get a good sear on the stove top and then finish them off in the oven

Place a large cast iron pan on a burner over medium high heat

You can certainly grill these but cooking burgers in a cast iron pan just brings them to another level.  Trust me

Once the pan starts to lightly smoke add in your burgers (if cooking more then four work in batches)

Sprinkle the back of the burger with a little salt and pepper, I mean you don’t want it to feel left out right?

Sear for 4 minutes

Flip the burger and sear for another 4 minutes (look at that crust!)

After the 4 minutes are up place the pan into the preheated oven and cook another 4-6 minutes or until the interior is cooked through

If cooking more then four remove the seared burger to a sheet pan and cook the next batch.  Repeat until all the burgers are seared and on the sheet pan and finish them in the oven

We are going to top each burger with a slice of cheddar cheese, your can certainly use any cheese that you like

Cook 1-2 minutes or until the cheese has melted

Remove the burgers from the pan and allow to rest a few minutes

Next we have some of our toppings.  Of course you can use your imagination here and add what you like

We are using romaine lettuce, thinly sliced tomato and red onions along with our smoky thousand island sauce

Now it’s time to top and serve.  We always like to toast the rolls. This just adds extra texture and flavor

Spread some of the sauce on the top and bottom halves of the roll and lay the lettuce down

Next goes the burger, tomatoes and onions

And there you have it!  Simply Sunday’s Turkey Burger!  Take a bite…we bet you come back for more!!!

Try some of our other favorite burgers!

Thanksgiving Turkey Burger

Hawaiian Burgers

Bacon Cheeseburgers

Grilled Portabella Mushroom Burgers

We love it when our readers make and share our recipes!

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Enjoy!!!

Tools used to make this recipe

Architec Carving Board, Gripperwood

Lodge Cast Iron Skillet

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

Pyrex Mixing Bowl

Reynolds Kitchens Parchment Paper

Royal Classique 10 Piece Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set with Silicone Handles

Wilton Recipe Right Non-stick Cookie Sheet Set, 2-Piece

OXO Good Grips Flat Wire Whisk

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