Turkey Yakitori Burgers

Our local grocery store gives away a free magazine called Real Food. We picked it up a couple weeks ago & were surprised at how much we wanted to make from it, especially some unusual grilling recipes. This week we tried the Ground Turkey Yakitori.

The recipe had versions for serving this over rice or as a burger. We did the burger version. This was an incredibly tasty burger. There is plenty of binder to hold the turkey together (often an issue with turkey burgers). The Sweet Soy Glaze has a wonderful sweet/salty flavor, it was good on the burgers, onions & mixed into mayonnaise. Matt liked the mayo version as a dip for his roasted potatoes. This is not a flavor combination you'd usually expect for a grilled burger but it really works.


Turkey Yakitori Burgers
(adapted slightly from Real Foods)

1/2 - 3/4 lb ground turkey
1/2 t garlic, minced
1 t fresh ginger, minced
1 T chopped spring onion (or scallion), white part only (we chopped the greens & put them in with roasting potatoes
1/2 t honey
1/2 T soy sauce
2 T well-beaten egg
1 t corn starch
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper

Sweet Soy Glaze

1/4 c Mirin wine or sweet sherry (I used regular sherry & a teaspoon of sugar)
1/4 c soy sauce
1 T maple syrup
1 T brown sugar
2 t fresh ginger, minced
2 T lemon juice
1 t cornstarch
1 T cold water

6 spring onions, trimmed & cut to about 8-inches long
1/4 c mayonnaise

In a small saucepan bring the Mirin, soy sauce, maple syrup, brown sugar, ginger & lemon juice to a boil. Mix the cornstarch & water together to dissolve the cornstarch. Stir into the boiling mixture. Let boil for about 15 minutes until thickened. Set aside to cool. Once cooled mix 1 T of the glaze into the mayonnaise & set aside to top the burgers.

Mix all the burger ingredients together with your hands & form into two patties. Grill over medium-high heat for 3 minutes per side. Brush with glaze & flip. Grill 2 more minutes. Brush with glaze & flip again cooking 2 more minutes.

When the burgers have about 5 minutes left put the onions on the grill & brush them with the glaze. Grill until they are soft.

Brush both the burgers & onions with glaze once more before serving.

Serve the burgers on rolls (sesame would be good) topped with the mayonnaise & lettuce. The onions can be eaten on the side or on the burgers.

Serves 2

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