Chef notes
Transform your usual turkey burgers with just a few easy ingredients. Soy sauce, cilantro, water chestnuts — and a few other pantry staples — add a ton of flavor and terrific texture to these easy-to-make burgers.
Technique tip: Cook and eat a little tester patty to be sure the burgers are seasoned to your liking. If the mix isn't just right, add a little more soy sauce or a sprinkle of salt.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- Kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 1½ pounds ground turkey
- One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- One 8-ounce can water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sriracha
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves finely chopped
- 4 burger buns
- 4 slices American or cheddar cheese
- 4 slices beefsteak tomatoes
- 4 slices red onion
- 4 leaves butter lettuce
- 1/2 cup mayo
Preparation
1.Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and heat over medium flame. Add in the onion, season with salt and cook until soft and very aromatic, 7-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool.
2.In a large mixing bowl, combine the turkey, ginger, water chestnuts, soy sauce, sriracha, cilantro and the cooked onions and garlic. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to the mix (this will keep the burgers really moist!). Use your hands to mix the ingredients until everything is really well combined and then form it into 4 equal patties.
3.With a paper towel, wipe out the sauté pan you used to cook the onion. Coat the pan with fresh olive oil, and bring it to medium-high heat. Add the burgers, being sure not to crowd the pan. Cook the burgers for 5-6 minutes on each side. The burgers should be browned and cooked through when done (if working in batches, keep the first batch warm in a 200°F oven while cooking the second batch).
4.Toast the burger buns, top with the burgers and garnish as desired.
