Asian Turkey Burgers with Spicy Lime Mayo.

December 13, 2011

Are you hungry?

If there’s anything that I find difficult this time of year, it’s attempting to create healthy dinners when I feel like five kinds of crazy all hopped up on holiday sugar and it’s a million o’clock by the time I start our meal.

That’s where this comes in.

[Oh. And this and this and this and this. And this.]

So let me tell you one thing.

I am totally a burger person, but I have never been one of those people that could eat a burger without a bun. It is just so incredibly unappealing to me – I mean a burger has cheese and bread and bacon, duh! – and if I want to sacrifice the carbs, I’d probably order some sort of seafood dish or a chicken or steak salad. With fries and cheese, of course.

Wait… shut your face. Fries aren’t carbs. Because they are on a salad! Get with the program.

But really, I just can’t do the burgers without buns and stuff. There’s something about eating a hunk o’ ground meat that turns me off. Especially turkey burgers. I really hate turkey burgers. And I’m sure this has something to do with how scarred for life I am from the first three months of marriage when IT’S ALL MY HUSBAND WOULD EAT. Dried out, flavorless, disgusting meat patties. Every single day. Serious.

Soooo.

How crazy is it that I actually ate one of these burgers in a salad?!

I did, I did, I did.

My cousin has been making these burgers from her friend’s recipe for a few months, and my uncle made them last week; we had them on salads with lots of lime and rice vinegar. They are so juicy and packed with flavor that for the first time, I didn’t even need a bun. Which was good because I’m pretty sure he wasn’t offering me one.

But like, this burger was so delicious that not only did I not eat a bun that night… I didn’t even eat it with cheese.

I know what you’re thinking.

Who the heck am I? Me too. Me too.

While I did end up slapping mine on two buns (that’s what she… yeah) this past weekend, I still skipped the cheese because truly? I wasn’t sure what kind of cheese to use. I love the flavors of sesame oil and garlic and soy sauce and was too afraid that the cheddar or fresh mozz I had in my fridge just wouldn’t mesh. Can some of you smart and fancy cheese people help me out here and suggest a great one for next time?

Luckily I made up for that yesterday when I consumed nearly an entire triangle of creamy syrah-soaked toscana from Trader Joe’s (OMGwherehasthisbeenallmylife?!). Get on that people, stat.

Instead of the cheese I wasn’t sure about, I threw together some mayo with sriracha and lots of lime junk. I typically only like mayo on my BLT’s and thousand-calorie diner club sandwiches, but something about this sounded flipping awesome. And then I was even able to top my burger with tomato and butter lettuce (favorite… I wonder why) and eat pretty much an entire month’s worth of vegetables here.

I love when that happens.

Asian Turkey Burgers

makes 4 burgers

1 pound ground turkey breast

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

3 green onions, thinly chopped

1/2 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

4 whole wheat buns

Combine all ingredients (except buns) in a large bowl and mix gently with your hands until just combined – do not overmix. Form turkey into 4 patties about 1/2 inch thick. Heat a skillet (in my case – a cast iron grill pan) over medium-high heat (or preheat your grill) and once hot, add burgers. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side.

Toast buns if desired, then top burgers with mayo and serve.

Spicy Lime Mayo

1/4 cup mayonaisse

1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (or more if desired)

zest of half of a lime

juice of half a lime

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth and combined.