Homemade Turkey Burgers

Turkey is a great, lean meat which serves as a perfect alternative for those of you who are trying to cut down on your red meat intake - but can't resist a big juicy burger! This recipe goes perfectly with sweet potato fries, but you could easily opt for a simple side salad if you are trying to keep carbs to a minimum.

This recipe makes five burger patties, so feel free to divide the quantities provided to meet your serving requirements!

Ingredients:

For the burger patties:

500g Turkey Mince

1 Egg *

½ Red Onion

½ Pear

1 tbsp Smoked Paprika

½ tbsp Cayenne Pepper (more if you like spice!)

1 tbsp White Pepper

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Sea Salt

For Putting Things Together:

Brioche Buns

Bacon Rashers (optional, 2 per patty)

Maple Syrup (for the bacon)

Little Gem Lettuce

Tomatoes

Avocado (optional)

2 White Onions

Sriracha Mayonnaise (or whatever sauce you prefer!)

* If you are planning on using less turkey mince for this recipe, simply whisk the egg in a separate bowl, and add a little into the patty mixture to bind everything together. You don't want the mixture to become too wet.

Method:

For the patties:

• Grate half a pear into a large bowl. You can use apple as an alternative. Next, add the turkey mince, egg, and seasoning and mix together by hand. If the mixture becomes too wet, add half a teaspoon of plain flour to draw out some of the moisture.

• Form the patties by rolling a chunk of the mixture into a ball and flattening it to a thickness of no more than 1.5 cm, and the diameter of your burger buns of choice.

• Heat a griddle pan or frying pan with a swig of olive or coconut oil and cook the patties on each side for approximately 5 minutes on a medium heat (cooking time is subject to your chosen thickness).

• If you want cheese in your burger, slice up some cheddar and top the patties with cheese in the last few minutes of its cooking time. Place the lid on top of the pan to help melt the cheese.

Bacon:

• If you want bacon in your burgers, chuck on the grill to a medium high heat.

• Cook on each side until you have reached your desired crispiness, but ensure to add a glaze of maple syrup using a pastry brush on each side for an added burst of flavour!

Caramelised Onions:

• Cut the onions into long, thin slices.

• Heat up a frying pan with part butter and part oil. This prevents the butter from burning, but still adds that wonderful buttery taste.

• Cook the onions for 5-7 minutes on a medium to low heat until the onions begin to colour. Add more oil if absolutely necessary.

• In the final few minutes, add a dusting of granulated sugar and stir until the sugar has caramelised the onions.

Putting things together!

• Toast the buns (white side down) on a dry frying pan on a medium to low heat until golden. This prevents the moisture from the fillings from seeping into the buns.

• Spread some sriracha mayonnaise (or other sauce of your choice) on the white sides of each bun.

• Stack up your desired fillings in your preferred order (I usually do bottom bun, sauce, lettuce, tomato, patty with cheese, bacon, caramelised onions, avocado, sauce, and top bun). Poke a cocktail stick down the middle to hold it all together if your burger ends up being as big as mine!

Bon appetite!

If you're feeling really naughty, why not try it with my Ferrero Rocher milkshake recipe...