Juicy Asian Turkey Burgers

Everyone that I’ve told about this turkey burger has given me the same reaction. The nose turns up, and they say “Turkey burger?”. Let us try to move past the skepticism, and instead delight in the juiciness!

Ok. I realize that the idea of a turkey burger isn’t as enticing as the idea of a Five Guys burger, but please give this one a chance. I couldn’t stop devouring it long enough to rave about it. I did anyway of course; it just wasn’t as ladylike as my normal dinner chat.

This will look like a very involved recipe upon first glance. That’s because we made three separate tasty toppings. If you’re ambitious, please try them with the burger. It was a wonderful combination, and they don’t really take much time to make. I also completely understand not always feeling like making pickles on the fly. So please don’t be scared off by all the ingredients. This burger would be wonderful with lettuce, jarred pickles and plain old mayo.

So now repeat after me, “I will try this turkey burger, and it will be awesome!”

Juicy Asian Turkey Burgers Recipe

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Ingredients

burger

1 1/4lb ground turkey
1/4 cup peanut sauce (recipe below)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
4 of your favorite buns (we used onion buns)

peanut sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated ginger

spicy mayo

1/4 cup mayo
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

slaw

2 cups shredded napa cabbage
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onion
2-4 tablespoons peanut sauce

quick asian pickles

1 large english cucumber (cut in half lengthwise then thinly sliced)
1/4 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

Step 1
To make the sauce, simply put all of the sauce ingredients into a bowl. I usually just put my microplane right over the bowl, and grate the ginger on top of everything else.
Step 2
Give it all a good whisk until the peanut butter is completely incorporated. It should look something like this.
Step 3
Now dump your ground turkey into a large bowl, and sprinkle with the salt. Add in the cilantro and green onion. Measure out 1/4 cup of the peanut sauce, and toss that in as well.
Step 4
Mush it all together with your hands until it looks like this.
Step 5
This is a very sticky ball of meat! I wash my hands thoroughly, so I'm starting without gunk all over me. Then I rub several drops of sesame oil into my hands to help prevent sticking, as I form four equal patties. Although, as I was making these, I thought about how cute these would be as sliders on Hawaiian rolls.
Step 6
I use a nonstick skillet for these; it helps with the sticky factor. I set the temperature at just below medium, and while it's heating up I lay my buns down to toast.
Step 7
Once your buns are nice and toasty, add about a tablespoon of sesame oil into the hot skillet. Place all four burgers in the pan, and cook them about 7 minutes on each side. For delicate burgers like these, we always use a fish spatula.
Step 8
Now on to all the burger extras! The spicy mayo is 1/4 c. mayo whisked together with 1 Tbs. sweet chili sauce. We use veganaise because it's lower in cholesterol, but of course the real deal would be even tastier I'm sure. I slather this on both sides of my bun, whereas Brian prefers one half with the mayo and the other half with extra peanut sauce. There are no wrong answers here.
Step 9
The slaw is very fast to throw together, but make sure to wait to dress it with the sauce until right when the burgers are being assembled. Cabbage tends to wilt. In a large bowl toss together the cabbage, cilantro, green onion, and a couple pinches of salt. When it's time to dress, drizzle over 2-4 Tbs. of the peanut sauce, and toss again.
Step 10
The pickles are a matter of slicing and simmering. Easy stuff, but if you're not in the mood to make homemade pickles simply dress your burger with your favorite jarred variety.
Step 11
I always love the seedless (english) cucumbers, but regular cucumbers would work just fine. I cut off the ends, then slice them in half lengthwise. Next I line them up side by side, and slice them at the same time.
Step 12
Toss in a shallow dish with the onions. Pour over the cooled vinegar solution. Then cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Forget about it for as long as you can.
Step 13
I made my pickles while I made Wyatt's and my lunch that day. So around six hours later, they looked like this.
Step 14
Now it's just a matter of making your burger to suit your tastes.
Step 15
Wyatt's burger had the spicy mayo without the slaw and his pickles on the side. He enjoyed it so much that it received the coveted "food hat" award!
Step 16
We topped our buns with the mayo, slaw, burger, and the pickles!
Step 17
Were they juicy? Ridiculously so. Do I regret it? Not a single bite!