Thai Turkey Burgers - save a pig, eat a turkey

I got this recipe at a grocery store early 2012. They were demo'ing it and I was very brave and tried it. I loved it. I actually met the woman who created the recipe, really nice lady. She'd be so proud if she knew I blogged her recipe and that you were reading it. So proud.  Here goes...

1 pound ground turkey, I use breast

½ cup cilantro, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 t freshly grated ginger

3 green onions, thinly chopped

1 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T sesame oil (I use vegetable because I don’t use the sesame oil fast enough and it gets rancid)

1 T toasted sesame seeds

About 1 t salt, if desired

Buns, toasted with butter, if desired – I like hearty, crusty buns, like Ciabatta

Combine everything except the ground turkey and mix well. Add the ground turkey and lightly mix.  Form into patties, I get 4 good size patties from a pound of ground turkey. I use my new kitchen scale and each patty is about 4.5 ounces. Get a scale! They are so cool! 

I cook them in a non-stick skillet with a tiny bit of vegetable oil, probably about a teaspoon swirled around the pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, the heat should be hot enough for them to sizzle, but not so hot that they burn. When they are nice and brown and done cooking, remove them from the pan to another dish and let them rest for 5 minutes.  Resting allows the juices to settle inside the burger and it makes them moist and yummy. If you have a thermometer, they should be at least 165 degrees. I stack them together in the pan to test them, you can’t really check one burger, it’s too thin.

To toast sesame seeds, just put them in a pan, I usually use a saucepan. Put them in dry and turn on the heat.  Watch them carefully and stir them and after about 2 minutes they will turn light brown and that means they are toasted. When you do this the first few times, be sure to watch them carefully because burnt toasted sesame seeds stink. Worse than burnt toast. 

Serve with:

Chili Lime Mayo 

½ cup mayo, I use light

1 T Sambal Ground Fresh Chili paste or any hot chili sauce 

Zest of one lime 

Juice of one lime 

¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Serve with burgers.

This is really important! 
I found the coolest way to peel ginger. COOLEST WAY! Rub the fresh ginger with the edge of a spoon and the peel comes right off.  You won't believe it when you do it, it's so easy and it works! 

Print it, it's worth the ink, promise:
Thai Turkey Burgers