I’d like to share with you my favorite turkey burger recipe which happened to come to me via my Mom. The problem I have with most turkey burgers is the flavor, ground turkey just doesn’t have that deep rich flavor of beef and can’t stand on it’s own. On the flip side, turkey doesn’t have all the fat and the heart clogging cholesterol that beef does. So you win some and you loose some. The inclusion of finally diced chipotle chilies gives the turkey a much needed boost of spicy and smokey flavor that offsets the beefy craving for the missing savory fats and offers up an equally enticing burger. It’s an surprisingly easy solution. These days you can find small cans of chipotle peppers in most grocery stores, and often times the chilies are submerged in a lovely adobo sauce. If you are pondering on the uses of leftover adobo, I made some wonderful adobo glazed carrots and onions to be served alongside the turkey burger. Avocado is another amazing addition to this burger. It’s creaminess is a great accompaniment to the heat of the chillies, so layer a few slices on top of your burger and dig in!

Recipe makes 4 burgers.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground Turkey
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• 1 Egg
• 4-6 finely diced Chipotle Chillies (add more or less depending on the level of spice you can tolerate)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Burger Fixings of choice – Buns, Cheese, Avocado, Greens, Tomatoes, Mayo, Ketchup… you get the idea

Directions:

1. In a food processor combine the garlic, turkey, egg, and salt. Pulse until uniform and smooth.
2. Fold in the chipotle peppers.
3. Divide the mixture into quarters, and form your burger patties.
4. Chill your patties in the refrigerator for about a hour. This will help develop the flavors, and aid in retaining their shape when thrown onto the grill.
5. Preheat the grill.
6. Grill the patties. I place the patties on the grill, flipping them over when all of the edges are visibly cook and only the middle is still visibly raw. Add cheese if desired and cook them for another couple of minutes until they’re cooked through.
7. Dress them up as desired and enjoy!