Turkey Burgers

I've tried recipe after recipe for turkey burgers and they always seem to end up blahhhhh. No flavor and they usually have the taste and texture of cardboard. I eat a lot of cardboard so I know how that tastes.  I found this recipe from Martha Stewart and it's actually pretty good and Lovey liked it; which is what really matters in this house if I'm making a burger out of turkey instead of beef.

There aren't a lot of ingredients; but the few that there are pack a punch of flavor.

Fresh sage.

 

Roasted garlic. This can be done earlier in the day or the day before. Here's how I do it.

 

 Provolone cheese.

 And, of course, ground turkey.  I prefer a mixture of white and dark.

Just mix it all up.

 

Divide the mixture into four portions and form into patties. Conveniently, these can be made early in the day or even the day before.

 

 I threw them on a medium-high grill for about 3-4 minutes per side.

NOTE:  I doctored my first burger up like I do a beef hamburger with onion, tomato, lettuce and kosher pickle.  Although good, it really masked the flavors that this burger has.  I prefer with minimal condiments because the meat is flavored really nice with the sage and garlic.  The original recipe suggested using a simple tomato pureé spread on it.

ALSO:  Although char-grilled flavor can't be beat on a burger, I prefer these cooked in a cast iron skillet. The garlic, sage, and cheese flavors are much more prevalent.

Turkey Burgers
Yields 4 burgers

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds ground turkey - mixture of breast and dark-meat turkey
1/4 cup roasted garlic
2-1/2 tsp. finely chopped fresh sage
1-1/4 cups grated provolone cheese - about 5 ounces
1/2 tsp. each Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 hamburger buns
vegetable oil
melted butter

Mise en Place:

• roast garlic
• chop sage
• grate cheese

Method:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, gently combine with your hands the turkey, garlic, sage, cheese, salt and pepper.  Do not overwork the meat.  Shape into four patties.  Refrigerate, covered, until cold, about 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat grill to medium-high (if you are using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above the grill for just 3 to 4 seconds). Brush grill and burgers with vegetable oil. Grill, flipping once, until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Alternately, you can prepare inside using a cast iron skillet.

Brush both sides of buns with melted butter and place on grill until lightly toasted.

Serve with crispy oven fries.