Sandwiches & Burgers: Handmade Turkey Burgers

Premade burgers are great, but there's nothing quite like a burger you've made yourself, one you've truly made yourself. A patty that you've created, adding ingredients you love, will almost always taste better than something you bought quickly at the store. This burger takes a little more work than a premade, obviously, but the results are worth it.


When shaping your burgers, you might want to make some smaller sliders. They're great for kids and make a wonderful appetizer for a larger gathering. You can use toothpicks to hold them together if you're serving them as appetizers.


A note on the protein: You can, if you like, use something other than turkey. Try using ground chicken, beef, or even pork. They'll all be delicious. This recipe makes about 6 burgers.


Ingredients


1 pound (approximately) ground turkey
¼ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 green onion, finely chopped (or 1 tsp onion powder, if desired)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
¼ anise seed
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
Vegetable oil
Barbeque sauce, if desired
6 Hamburger Buns
Burger toppings of your choice

Preparation


These burgers are not really as hard to make as you might think. Place turkey, bread crumbs, cheese, onion, garlic powder, oregano, anise seed, milk, and egg in a large bowl. Mix well, typically with your hands, until everything is well combined and uniform. If you don't want to get raw turkey on your hands, consider using Ziploc bags to protect your hands as you work. It will keep your hands much cleaner and they can just be thrown out when you're finished.


Divide the turkey mixture into 6 equal portions. Shape each portion into a single patty. Turkey won't shrink too much, but some meats will, so keep this in mind when deciding on how large they should be. If you're going to make sliders, you'll be making much smaller patties, so you'll have many more of them. Remember if you're making sliders, you'll want to make sure you've made slider-sized buns.


Once you've shaped your burgers, heat a little vegetable oil in a large skilled over medium heat. How long you cook your burgers will depend on how large they are. Very thick burgers may need as much as 20 minutes. A slider will only need about 10 minutes. Cook burgers for 5 minutes on the first side, flip and cook for a further 5 minutes. After this, check for doneness. If they're not cooked, flip and cook for another 5 minutes. You do not want an undercooked burger, so a little more is always better than a little less.


If you want a barbequed burger, coat the burgers with barbeque sauce 2 minutes before you remove them from the skillet. Let the barbeque sauce caramelize a little to add flavor.


When the burgers are fully cooked, remove from heat and place on buns. Top with mustard, pickles, tomatoes, or any other toppings you like. Enjoy warm.