Flip Em' the Bird - Avocado Turkey Burgers

I absolutely love hamburgers, but every once in a while, it’s good to mix things up and try a different kind of burger. So, I decided to “flip em’ the bird” and take a stab at creating a turkey-based burger as an alternative to the classic. Let’s talk turkey!!

I eat turkey at Thanksgiving and that’s about it. It’s not because I don’t like turkey – I do. But generally, I find turkey to be kind of boring and bland compared to other proteins, so I usually turn to pork, chicken, or beef first. I decided to challenge myself to create a burger using turkey that was flavorful, juicy, and delicious – easier said than done!

I started with the meat first. Turkey breast can be dry even when cooked perfectly, so I decided to use a 50/50 mix of white and dark ground turkey to help keep the burgers moist and juicy. Then, I added shallots, white wine, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard into the mix to ramp up the flavor and moisture even more. Since everything is better with bacon, I added it to the ingredients list and decided to sauté the shallots in the leftover bacon grease to add depth of flavor and some richness to the burgers.

Finally, I smashed and seasoned some avocados for a quick homemade guacamole to put on the burgers and picked out some freshly baked onion rolls to complete the recipe. Topped with lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard, the result is a tasty, juicy burger that’s packed with flavor. Once you’ve tasted these, you won’t even miss the beef! Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Avocado and Turkey Burgers (Serves 4)

These grilled turkey burgers have a California vibe to them courtesy of the smashed avocado and white wine/shallot mixture that is incorporated into the burgers. They also provide a (slightly!) healthier alternative to a traditional hamburger since they are leaner with less fat than ground beef. Serve with a mixed greens salad with a mustard/champagne vinaigrette and a nice glass of Chardonnay.

Ingredients

8 slices thick-cut bacon

¾ lb. ground white meat turkey

¾ lb. ground dark meat turkey

2 medium shallots, finely diced

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. dry white wine (I use Chardonnay, but any dry white wine will work)

1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 medium Hass avocados, peeled and pitted

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

4 slices Munster cheese

Bib lettuce leaves

1 large tomato, cut into ¼-inch thick slices

Mayonnaise (we use Hellmann’s)

Yellow mustard

4 onion rolls

2 tbsp. salted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

Cook the bacon in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until nicely browned – set aside on a plate lined with paper towels. Reserve 2 tbsp. of the bacon grease in the skillet.

Heat the reserved bacon grease over medium heat and add the shallots, stirring frequently until shallots are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer the shallots to a large bowl and add the Worcestershire sauce, wine, and Dijon mustard to the shallots – stir to combine. 

Add the ground turkey to the bowl with the shallot mixture. Add 1 tsp. of kosher salt and 1 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper and mix all the ingredients together gently with your hands until just fully incorporated (don’t overmix – you want the mixture to be a bit loose to help keep the burgers moist when you grill them). Divide the ground turkey mixture into 4 equal servings of 6 oz. each and form gently into patties. Press your thumb into middle of the top of each patty (this will keep the flat while grilling). Place in a rimmed baking sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate until ready to grill (you can make these a few hours ahead of grilling if you’d like).

Place the avocados in a medium bowl and smash with a fork until the avocados are slightly chunky – add salt and pepper to taste, along with the fresh lemon juice (in addition to adding flavor, the lemon juice will keep the avocado mixture from turning brown) and mix together. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Heat the grill by turning all the burners to high for 15 minutes with the grill cover closed. Meanwhile, rub both sides of each turkey patty with the vegetable oil and butter each side of the rolls.

Once the grill is ready, turn the burners down to medium-high and place the turkey patties on one side of the grill and the rolls, buttered side down, on the other side of the grill. Close the grill cover and let cook for 5 minutes, checking the rolls every so often to make sure they don’t burn (remove them from the grill once toasted and set aside while you finish grilling the burgers). Flip the turkey patties and place two pieces of bacon and a slice of cheese on top of each. Close the grill cover to finish cooking the patties and melt the cheese, about 4 minutes.

Remove the turkey burgers from the grill. Spread the mayo and mustard on the top buns. Spread the smashed avocado on the bottom buns, and top each with a turkey patty, bib lettuce leaves, tomato.