Turkey Burger Tuesday

I recently received my favorite cooking magazine from Food Network. This issue is all about summer time and the BBQ. There was a feature section on all kinds of hamburgers; beef, pork, turkey, veggie, you name it. The turkey burger caught my eye, but the ingredients were all of some mushroom and parsley. I decided to put a little mexican flare on the plain old turkey burger. Whether topped with a couple of slices of bacon and cheese, or some honey mustard and avocado, this was a huge hit for my family.


Texas Turkey Burger


Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 pounds ground turkey breast, the average weight of 1 package
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large shallot or 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional - parsley may be substituted
• 1/2 small bell pepper, green, red or yellow, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons, 2/3 palm full, ground cumin
• 1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne hot sauce, several drops (recommended: Tabasco)
• 2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
• Vegetable oil or olive oil, for drizzling
• 8 slices bacon, cooked
• 1/2 pound deli sliced pepper jack cheese
• 4 crusty kaiser rolls, split

Chop your garlic and veggies.

Combine turkey meat, garlic, shallot or onion, thyme, cilantro or parsley, bell pepper, serrano or jalapeno pepper, cumin, hot pepper sauce, grill seasoning or salt and pepper. Divide mixture into 4 equal mounds then form meat into patties. 

Drizzle patties with vegetable oil to coat. Cook in skillet over medium high heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Place sliced cheese over the patties in the last 2 minutes of cooking, use 1 or 2 slices for each patty, as you like.

Pile cooked cheeseburgers into buns. Top cheeseburgers with 2 slices of cooked, crisp bacon or turkey bacon and lettuce. For those of you who do not eat cheese, such as I, top with dijon mustard and avocado slices.