What could be better, now that the weather is warmer, than some burgers cooked on the outdoor grill? As part of the Burger Ballyhoo, created by Paul and Freya of Writing at the Kitchen Table, I decided to play around with some turkey for burgers.
For starters, I diced in a very small dice, some mushrooms and a couple ribs of celery and a clove of minced garlic. Those were sauteed in some olive oil, then mixed in a bowl with some Italian flavored turkey sausages from a local company, Willy Bird Turkey. I used three sausages, about a half pound. To these I added a pound of plain ground turkey, also from Willy Bird Turkey, an egg, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme and 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, plus 1/2 teaaspoon dried oregano. These were well combined in the bowl, then lightly shaped into 6 patties. Sweetie grilled them until they were just done (overcooking is the bane of turkey burgers) and served them on whole wheat buns that he had toasted on the grill.
They did not dry out and held their shape, partly due to the egg and oatmeal. In fact they were juicy. The combination of the Italian sausage and the sauteed vegetables and the herbs gave them lots of flavor. Even the guys who usually prefer beef said that they enjoyed these as a change. I like them because they are lower in fat than beef burgers and, well, I LOVE turkey.
