Turkey Burger Sundays

Okay, so I know it’s not Sunday, but we’ve had a tradition for quite some time, especially over the Summer, that Sundays should be designated to Turkey Burgers!  Our weekends are usually jam packed during the summer with swimming, visiting, dog walking and general family hang out time.  By the time Sunday rolls around, we really just feel like chilling at home up by the pool.  Turkey Burgers are easy as they are usually pre-made and separated into the freezer to thaw that day and barbeque with little to no mess.  It took a long time to find some Turkey Burger recipes that didn’t feel dry or lack flavor.  The following one is adapted from Candice Kumai’s cookbook, Pretty Delicious.  This book is great, especially if you are watching your figure, as her recipes are lacking in calories, but not flavor.

This recipe that follows isn’t an exact replica of hers because I tend to take a few short cuts to make it easier for us and spread it out a bit longer.  Also, we do like our burgers with a bun but she suggests lettuce to keep the calories down.  This is my adaptation of THE HOLLYWOOD BURGER, which is doubled to have more to freeze:

4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or canola oil

1 yellow onion (not doubled)

8 ounces button mushrooms, stemmed and thinly sliced (not doubled)

2 tsp sea salt

2 Pounds of lean ground turkey (preferably white meat or half reg/half white)

½ cup panko bread crumbs (either reg or whole wheat)

4 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp BBQ Sauce (I like Organicville Tangy BBQ Sauce w/ Agave Nectar)

1 tsp pepper

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 – 4 minutes.  Stir in the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they release their moisture, 2 to 3 minutes.  Mix in ½ tsp of salt, reduce the heat to med-low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is deep brown and sticky, about 10 minutes.  (if the mixture is getting too dark too quick, reduce the heat to low.)  Transfer the caramelized onion and mushrooms to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

Combine the turkey, panko, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce, pepper, remaining salt, and the caramelized onion/mushroom mixture in a large bowl.  Mix together until combined.  Form into patties.  (Generally this can yield you about 8 decent size patties or 6 rather large ones.)

You can either cook the burgers in the skillet you used for the onion/mushroom mixture or barbeque/grill them.  Cook until burgers are browned on both sides and cooked through, about 10 minutes total – or temperature gauge inserted reads 165F.   Let them rest for a few minutes before serving.  You can serve with butter lettuce as your buns or regular buns.  Add a little BBQ sauce, avocado and what ever other fixings you prefer and enjoy!  Turkey Burger Sundays!

For Candace’s recipe for Skinny ‘Cue Sauce check out her book.