asian flair turkey burgers

"when you're writing this up, do you give me any credit for grilling? or do you just skip over that part and talk about how good the food tastes!?"

that was the response i got after my teriyaki chicken kebabs went live last week. this week, here's my homage to jason and his grilling mastery.

he starts with lump charcoal (we skip the briquettes because of the binders holding it together. i don't know exactly what it's made of, but jason likes the lump better anyway). and puts a ball of newspaper in the bottom of the chimney. the top is filled with charcoal and the newspaper is lit. ten minutes later he's got hot charcoal without lighter fluid! and he's ready for my burgers.

this time turkey.

and surprisingly, not my idea.

it's way too early in the summer for me to be almost sick of burgers. but i am. i must eat about three times as much beef in the summer than i do in the winter. the addition of garlic, onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil was just different enough and yet still the same. perfect.

one word of warning - i let my onions and garlic go too long in my mini chopper. they were completely liquid with no chunks. sure, they incorporated well, but my burgers were soggy and really hard to put on the grill. luckily they didn't fall through the grill grates but it was a definite possibility.

asian flair turkey burgers
adapted from savorybites
30 minutes start to finish, serves 4

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
4 slices provolone or cheddar cheese (use american in a pinch)
4 rolls or buns

1. in a small food chopper or food processor, chop the garlic, onion, sesame oil, and soy sauce until it's very fine. if you don't have a food processor, chop the garlic and onion into very small pieces and mix in the sesame oil and soy sauce.
2. add the onion mixture to the turkey. add the egg. use your hands and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. grill about 5 minutes per side. serve with mayo and ketchup.