Buffalo Turkey Burgers

Ever since I started blogging, I have wanted to try different meats besides my usual chicken with an occasional pork or steak. A couple of months back, I came across this burger recipe at Thyme for Wine (clever name!) and it uses ground turkey rather than the usual ground beef. Perfect way to try a different kind of meat, I thought. Of course, like always, I had to make a few changes to suit our likings as well as cut the recipe down because it originally yields 6 servings but we were making enough just for the two of us. We ended up making four burgers total, but I should have known that there is NO way I could eat two of these! They are plump! So really I only had one burger, and didn't really need to make four total... I don't remember the exact measurements, so I will just supply the original recipe from Rebecca in regards to the ingredient amounts.

Buffalo Turkey Burgers adapted from Thyme for Wine

Printable recipe

*Yields: 6 servings

•  1.2 lbs lean ground turkey
• 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup hot sauce/buffalo sauce
• 6 slices of mozzarella cheese (I used pepper jack cheese)
• 6 hamburger buns
• lettuce for serving
• celery sticks for serving

In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, chopped onion, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Once incorporated, form into 6 equally sized patties. 

In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the turkey burger patties to the skillet. Cook on each side for at least 7 minutes (depending on the thickness of the burgers). 

Once the burgers are done, toss them in a bowl of buffalo sauce. Set the burgers on a baking sheet lined with foil, place a piece of cheese on top and put in the oven to broil for two minutes (I put it on 'bake' at 200° just enough to melt the cheese). At this time, you can toast the buns in the oven if you like. 

When serving, place a small piece of lettuce on each bun, then the burger, and then any toppings of your choice like blue cheese crumbles or dressing on top. 

Note: You can serve them with celery sticks too for a real buffalo feel.

Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this meal. Dipping them in the hot sauce makes them very spicy, so just brush some on top if you don't want too much heat. And I found I didn't really like the ground turkey texture or flavor. It's probably a personal preference. Ok so maybe I'm not a ground turkey kinda gurl? Not 100% sure, but I don't think I will be making this recipe again. Maybe I will give ground turkey another try in another recipe, like chili or some other kind of burger.