Grilled Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onion and Cheddar
Ground turkey punched up with garlic and Worcestershire, grilled hot and pulled the second it hits temp, under onions given the full twenty minutes they need.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Written
Method
-
Melt the butter with the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat, add the onions and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’ve collapsed and turned deep amber, about 20 minutes.
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While the onions cook, mix the ground turkey with the Worcestershire, garlic, salt, and pepper, handling it as little as possible, and shape into 4 patties wider than the buns.
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Press a shallow dimple into the center of each patty so it cooks flat instead of doming.
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Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high and cook the patties until well-marked and they release cleanly from the grate, about 4 minutes.
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Flip, top with the cheddar, and cook until the cheese has slumped and the center reads 165°F, about 4 minutes more.
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Toast the buns on the grill, then build the burgers with the caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.
Notes
Ground turkey’s reputation for turning into a dry puck has nothing to do with the meat and everything to do with handling — buy the dark-meat blend if your store carries it, pack the patties loosely, and pull them the second they hit 165°F rather than a minute after. That’s the whole trick.
The onions are the actual point of this recipe, so start them before anything else; twenty minutes of real color can’t be rushed, and the patties, buns, and toppings all fit into that gap. Swap in pepper jack for more heat, or drop the bun altogether and serve the patty over the onions with a fried egg.