Chipotle Turkey Burgers

I know, I know, another burger recipe... but hey, it's summer!  ... and today's the 4th of July, and burgers are one of those quintessentially American things, along with hot dogs, and apple pie, and fried chicken.... I actually did not make these to celebrate the holiday, but I think they'd be a great thing to make today.  So they are not traditional burgers, but a really delicious riff ... chipotle peppers and abobo sauce mixed into the meat, topped with avocado, tomatillo, and cilantro.  Awesome!

Happy Independence Day!!

Chipotle Turkey Burgers

adapted from Gourmet, June 2009

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey, preferably dark meat

2 tsp minced chipotle in adobo plus 1 tsp adobo sauce

2 garlic cloves, pressed

4 slices Muenster cheese

4 hamburger buns, toasted

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 large tomatillo, husked and rinsed, then sliced

1/2 small avocado, sliced

1/2 cup cilantro sprigs

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill to medium-high heat.  
2. Gently mix ground turkey with the chopped chipotles, adobo sauce, garlic, and a scant tsp of salt.  Make 4 3/4-inch thick patties.
3. Oil the grill grates, and place the burgers on the grill.  Grill 5 minutes on one side, flip, and grill 4 minutes on the other.  Top each with a slice of cheese and grill 1 minute more.
4. Assemble the burgers by spreading the buns with mayonnaise, placing the burger on top, and then topping with tomatillos, avocado, and cilantro.

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for ground pork, which you can certainly use as well!
• The chipotle flavor in this is fairly subtle.  To amp it up a bit, next time I'll be adding some chopped chipotles and adobo sauce to the mayonnaise.  Yum!

Jalapeno Popper Sliders

So burgers mixed with jalapeno poppers sounds awesome, am I right?  When I saw this in Rachel Ray's Everyday magazine I just couldn't resist trying out this combo.  Yep, once again I'm back with some Rachel Ray... I picked this particular issue up at the grocery store recently as I had finished all the food magazines I subscribe to, and an amazing looking burger beckoned to me from the cover.  Not the popper sliders, but rather a burger topped with an extra-thick onion ring.  Perusing the magazine though brought me to these sliders, and I knew that I would have to try them.  I mean, who doesn't like jalapeno poppers?  (It's okay if you don't, I won't judge you too harshly.)  So in this recipe, a mini-burger is topped with the ingredients of a jalapeno popper- a seasoned cream cheese, sauteed jalapenos, and a bit more cheese for good measure- covering both jalapeno poppers stuffed with cream cheese, and those stuffed with a cheddar cheese.  It's the best of both worlds.

Jalapeno Popper Sliders

from Everyday with Rachel Ray, June/July 2011

Makes 6 sliders

Ingredients:

3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and cut into rounds, or strips

1 red Fresno chile pepper, seeded and sliced into strips

Extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil, for drizzling

4 oz cream cheese

1 tbsp grated onion

1 large clove garlic, grated or pressed

A small handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1/4 tsp ground cumin

salt and pepper

1 lb ground beef

2 oz. sharp or smoked cheddar, or smoked Gouda, sliced

6 slider rolls, such as 3-inch brioche rolls, or cornmeal topped dinner rolls, split

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill (or griddle or grill pan) to medium-high heat.

2. Heat a medium skillet over medium high heat and add jalapenos and Fresno chile peppers.  Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently, until they are charred on the edges, and crisp-tender.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, onion, garlic, cilantro and cumin.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

4. Season the ground beef with salt and pepper.  Form 6 small patties, with an indentation in the center of each. Brush the grill with canola oil (or other oil with a higher smoke point).  Place the patties on the grill, and grill for 2-3 minutes.  Flip the burger, top with a dollop of cream cheese mixture, and a piece of sliced cheese.  Grill for 2-3 minutes more until the burger is cooked, and the cheese is melted.

5. Place the burgers on the rolls, and top with the chile peppers.

Notes:

• For the last step of the recipe, when you have flipped the burger and placed the cheeses on top, the original recipe says to put the cover of the grill down, or tent with tinfoil to promote melting.  I really didn't think this was a necessary step, as my cheese melted just fine without the top down.  
• I loved these burgers, but next time I want to try stuffing the burger with jalapenos, cream cheese, and cheese to make it even more exciting!  A burger stuffed with jalapeno popper ingredients sounds even awesomer to me- maybe stuffed and topped with them.... hmmmmm...
• Also next time I won't seed the peppers, as with them de-seeded there was very little heat.  It is perfect this way if you like mild food, but since I like things spicy, hopefully keeping the seeds in will be just the thing to literally spice things up.

Turkey Burgers with Cheddar and Smoky Aioli

Now that it's unofficially summer, and I have a working outside grill, it seems the perfect time to start exploring the wonderful world of burgers.  Growing up, I admit that burgers were not my favorite meal in the world.... sorry mom and dad.  I have changed my opinion though now that I'm older, and have realized the burgers don't just have to mean a ground beef patty on a bun with ketchup and mustard.  I like the kicked up burgers with interesting toppings and lots of cheese far more than the plain burgers, and nowadays they are actually something I crave.  I am personally more a fan of turkey burgers, rather than beef, and so I decided that my first burger of the season would be one made with ground turkey.  After doing a little searching, I came upon a recipe for a grilled turkey burger with cheddar cheese and smoky aioli that originally appeared in the August 2009 issue of Bon Appetit.  This burger is seriously one of the best I've ever made- the toppings are awesome- cheddar cheese, grilled peppers and onions, and to top it off a delicious cumin and coriander spiced aioli. Really awesome!

Turkey Burgers with Cheddar and Smokey Aioli
Serves 4


Ingredients:
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing veggies
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
4 red onion slices, 1/3-inch thick
1 large or 2 small red bell peppers, quartered
4 slices cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
4 hamburger buns
arugula

Directions:
1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat, and toast cumin and coriander seeds about 1 1/2 minutes, or until aromatic and slightly darker in color.  Shake skillet often to move seeds around while toasting.  Once toasted, grind spices in a spice grinder, or crush in a mortar with pestle.  In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, 2 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, and spices.  Taste, and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a medium bowl gently mix turkey with 2 tbsp of the aioli (mayo mixture).  Make 4 3/4-inch patties with the turkey, and make a shallow indentation in the middle of each burger with your thumb.
3. Prepare your grill (should be about medium-high heat).  Sprinkle your burgers with salt and pepper on each side.  Brush the onions and peppers with olive oil.
4. Grill onions and peppers for about 4 minutes per side, until soft and charred.
5. Grill burgers 5 minutes on one side, then flip and grill 4 minutes.  Place cheese on burgers, and grill a minute more.
6. Assemble burgers with desired toppings- onions, peppers, arugula, and a nice dollop of aioli.

Source: culinarycovers.com, originally from Bon Appetit, August 2009

Notes:

• I highly recommend using a grill basket for the veggies in this recipe.  I unfortunately do not have one yet, and about 1/2 my onions ended up falling into the hot coals- luckily I had sliced more that the recipe calls for, and so the survivors were enough.
• I grilled the burger buns on the grill as well, so if you like toasted buns, place them on the grill while the burgers are cooking, checking them frequently.  Move them around a little too, if some are on a hot or less hot part of the grill, so that they are toasted evenly.
• I used white meat ground turkey for my burgers and they turned out perfectly fine, and not too dry, but the darker meat will turn out a juicier burger.  Dark meat is harder to find though- it's not carried at the Shop and Stop I go to, but is carried at Whole Foods.
• The aioli this makes was the best part in my opinion, and you'll probably have some left over after you put it on your burgers.  It makes a great dipping sauce for fries, so I'd say that's a good way to use any extra.