Some nights just call for the grill. And lots of those grill night’s scream out for burgers. We had one of those nights last night. And burgers in my house are almost always turkey burgers.
It all started with a recipe for easy turkey burgers chili, way back when the only ground turkey we could find was the giant 3-pound package. Those days, it was just the two of us, so we made chili, and we decided to make burgers with the rest.
These easy turkey burgers have been tweaked and re-tweaked, and enjoyed for the past years. And I decided this time I should actually measure it out and write it down.
So, here it is. They are spicy (of course, you can adjust the Sriracha to your taste), and they are a bit sweet because I think brown sugar makes everything better. They are also moist – perhaps too moist – and when that happens, I just start them on aluminum foil over the grates until they firm up, and I can put them directly on the grill for those wonderful grill marks.
Easy Turkey Burgers That Rock!
Ingredients
3 pounds ground turkey (minced turkey) - do NOT buy the extra lean
¼ cup BBQ sauce (barbecue sauce) - Your favorite barbeque sauce
1½ tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce - add more if needed AFTER the taste test- 1-2 tablespoons apple butter
2 to 3 cloves garlic - finely minced or grated- 2 tablespoons Smokehouse Maple dry seasoning blend
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1½ teaspoon onion powder
1½ teaspoon chili flakes (chilli flakes in British English)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup brown sugar - light brown sugar, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the turkey with the wet ingredients.
- Mix all the dry ingredients, add to the turkey mixture, and combine gently.
- Make a test patty on the stove, check for seasoning and moisture and adjust if necessary.
- Form the rest of the mixture into ¼ to ⅓ pound burgers depending on how many you’re feeding, cover and refrigerate.
- Remove burgers from the fridge in time for them to come to room temp before grilling.
- Heat grill to medium-high heat. Use an old towel to oil the grates so your burgers won’t stick.
- Grill for 4 minutes, flip and grill for 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low, flip the burgers again, add cheese (if you like) and finish grilling until the temp is 160°F.
