Turkey + Pork = Great Burgers
For this perfect summer day were grilling up some tasty burgers. Our burgers were made with ground pork and turkey seasoned with pureed chipotle in adobo, worcestershire, salt and pepper then stuffed with extra-sharp cheddar. The grilled stuffed burgers were served on toasted onion buns with a cilantro-lime vinaigrette, grilled red onions and tomatoes, crispy thick-sliced bacon, and fresh avocado. With a burger this rich, we chose to get rid of the standard side of fries and serve grilled zucchini and squash for a more well-balanced meal.
T: Let’s review what I’ve eating in the last three days… Wednesday, lunch: california burrito. Thursday, lunch: In & Out Double Double, animal style. Thursday, supper: these stuffed burgers. Friday, lunch: another california burrito.
A: woah dogg! you’re not supposed to let on that we don’t post our meals the day we eat ’em! 😛 let me just say: g.d. that is a ton of meat you’ve been eating t!
T: Yeah, a ton of beef. Fatty beef with cheese.
A: not all of it was beef! these burgs were made with 1 part ground turkey and 1 part ground pork! no beef present here at all!
T: nice! It tasted just as sinful and heart-clogging as all the other crap I’ve eaten lately. Good to hear it’s slightly healthier.
A: ah, who’s counting! and besides, i like to make up for the healthiness factor of turkey by pairing it with yummy things like bacon… and cheese!
T: So next week I’m going to have to eat a salad or something. To make up for the last few days.
A: ha! yeah right! like i see you eating salad for lunch! maybe for dinner, if i force it on you, but doubtful for lunch.
T: true, they don’t offer salads at my taco shop. Actually, they probably do now that I think about it, but I don’t take note of things like salads on taco shop menus. I have a very selective attention.
A: carnitas… california burritos… that pretty much covers it huh?
T: that and the brain tacos which I never plan to get again.
A: hmmm, what if i made a brains burger!?! and stuff it!
T: if anyone could make it taste good it would probably be you, but umm… I’m ok with sticking to animal muscles. I like muscles.
A: so what’d ya think of this particular ground muscle… that was stuffed with sharp cheddar and topped with bacon?
T: this burger was muy excellent. My only possible complaint, and this is a minor one, was that the tomato was a little, how shall I say, juicy, and soaked the bottom bun a bit. Before it was all said and done I was eating the burger upside down.
A: i’ll admit it. i was doing the same thing! the tomato added a great taste, but damn it if it didn’t make my bun soggy! oh well. better luck next time on that one. i really dug the flavors over all. it just tasted like a pretty normal, well made burger. nothing too fancy or gourmet, just tasty.
T: The veggies were tasty too. The grilled veggies are always a delight. What’d you rate this meal?
A: i think i’m gonna have to give it a 3.78/5. it was good. it really was tasty, but nothing too out of the ordinary or exciting. i enjoyed all the pork that went into it and thought the veggies were grrreat! i’m a fool for some grilled red onions on a burg. your thoughts?
T: yeah, love the onion on there. I give the burger a 4.4/5. It was really one of the better burgers that I’ve had over the course of my lifetime… but comparing it with some of the previous burgers that you’ve made it wasn’t quite up to their level of awesomeness. This is a case where if you had just created mediocre burgers all along, I would be jumping up and down about this one, but now I’ve come to expect the best burger ever every time. Lesson, kids?
A: pretend that mediocrity is your best then hit ’em with greatness when they aren’t looking! 😉
T: exactly. Just wait. I’ve been mediocre my entire life. When I’m like 65 I’m going to show you what’s up. It’ll be great.
2/3 lbs ground pork (not lean)
1/2 lbs ground turkey (not lean)
1/8-1/4 cup pureed chipotle in adobo
4-5 dashes worcestershire sauce
4-5 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
6 thick slices bacon, cut in half lengthwise and pan-fried
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, in thin slices
2 ripe tomatoes, 1/2 inch thick slices
1 small red onion, kept whole and cut into 1/4 inch thick rings
1 tbsp canola or olive oil
4 good hamburger buns
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Vinaigrette:
1/8 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tsp honey
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/8-1/4 cup canola oil, depending on how tart you like it
kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. To a medium sized mixing bowl, add the ground pork, turkey, chipotle puree, worcestershire sauce, and a pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Using your hands, gently mix the ingredients together until just combined. Over mixing will cause the burgers to be tougher.
Take 1/4 of the seasoned ground meat into your hands. Flatten the meat into a thin disc. Place 1 oz of shredded cheddar into the middle of the patty. Work the meat at the edges of the cheese up and over, working all the way around until the cheese is completely encompassed with meat. Try your best to work the burger into a flat disc shape rather than a round meatball like burger. Repeat this process with the rest of the meat and cheese until four burgers have been made. Season both sides of the patties with kosher salt and black pepper.
On a plate spread out the tomato and onion slices. Drizzle with oil then season liberally with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Toss to coat.
Grill the burgers over medium-high for 4-5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes until just cooked through.
After flipping the burgers, place the onions and tomatoes on the grill. Grill over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes then flip, cooking for another 2 minutes. Once the burgers are cooked through, remove them and the grilled onions and tomatoes from the grill. Toast the buns on the grill for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until toasted.
While the burgers are cooking, make the vinaigrett. To a small mixing bowl, add the lime juice, honey, and dijon mustard. Whisk until thoroughly combined. While whisking constantly, drizzle in the canola oil, forming an emulsified vinaigrette. Season the vinaigrette to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Assemble the burgers. Brush the inside of both the tops and bottoms of the buns with the vinaigrette. Place layer the following ingredients on to each of the bottom buns: grilled onions, avocado, a burger patty, 3 half-slices of bacon, and grilled tomato. Top off each of the burgers with the top bun. Serve hot and enjoy!
Did I happen to mention that my last job in SD was a block away from the Sports Arena Santanas? Many many Cali burros were consumed, as well as my fave, their chicken quesadilla. Complete gut-busting food, but oh how I miss it.
You guys go to Lorna’s or any of my other recommendations yet?
Okay, first off THANK YOU for including bacon in this one. The entire country of Australia does not have American smoked bacony goodness, just this unsmoked piece of crap that tastes like ham, so I am TOTALLY living vicariously through you two. Keep up the good work.
Secondly, can I get a holla for mediocrity? I personally make it a point to suck ass every so often so my friends don’t get too used to me rocking the house when it comes to cooking. But I don’t call it mediocrity, I just call it “keeping it real”.
mmmm, YUM! we had burgers last night too. the lazy 5 minute kind, straight beef patties w/ lettuce and swiss and a bag of chips, and diet cokes.
these though amanda my dahlinnk, look delicious! i love the grilled veggies, must have been awesome 🙂
I would like to come to your house for dinner. What a beautiful site you have!!! Awesome.
sounds fantastic, can’t wait for the recipe, hope it’s easier to make than the brioche 😉
Elaine
Hmmm, oh yeah, I posted in the wrong place…..
we are making turkey burgers tnight, and i’ve come to the master for inspiration. chipotle in adobo, check! sharp cheddar, you should copywright this one i can just tell.
Wow, burgers are my fav! only thing i don’t eat meat:) but i love veggies and i love grilling..in case anyone’s interested, check out my grilled pesto burgers at http://funnfud.blogspot.com/2007/07/veg-grilled-pesto-burgers.html
-Mansi
http://funnfud.blogspot.com
Sounds sooo good! I’m not a huge fan of turkey burgers but I might try this turkey/pork combo to see how it works. Of course, adding the chipotle and worcestershire would probably make any meat patty taste good!
Coat the bun with a thin layer (or not so thin) of mayo (or butter or some other kind of fat) to keep it from soaking up the tomato juice.
I’m in California now, might be heading down to San Diego next week, I’ll e-mail you guys if I make it down there and maybe we can get together for a california burrito or two 🙂
Hope y’all haven’t been eating turkey burgers for a week..
i really hope you make it down this way nicole! we would love to get a chance to hang out with you!
I made these last night and they were delicious! I had to alter them somewhat, of course. I used 1 lb ground pork (I don’t think it was lean, but it did say “less fat ground pork” — no idea what that means) and 1/2 lb 93% lean ground turkey. Added about 1/8 c. sliced red onion, one huge garlic clove, and some dashes of lime juice to the chipotle peppers to puree. Used 2% milk Mexican mix shredded cheese instead of cheddar (and I think I used a little more than 4 or 5 oz!). Used turkey bacon instead of real bacon and skipped the rest of the toppings, including the vinaigrette. I ate mine with sour cream and ketchup on top; not sure what my husband had on his. We both loved them. Very juicy and flavorful. Thanks!
Hello,
Have tried calling some and don’t get yiou so thought I would check out your web site. It is really quite amazing with both very good food and very “fun” conversation between you and Tyler (and bloggers). Also went to “the foodblog blog” and was equally impressed. You guys need to figure out how to nake a business out of this!! You’re good at it.
How are you doing? How’s the new job? Assume Tyler is still doing web site optimization.
Not sure how long a comment I can leave so will get to the quasi-urgent, non emergency reason I am trying to catch up with you. Anita’s Community College Trustees meeting is in San Diego the end of September. I have worked things where I can come out late Wednesday night after a meeting and we will both stay until early (very early) Monday morning. Obviously, we want to visit some with you all while we are out there. Suspect I will be dead on Thursday after the late arrival. Anita’s meetings run through Saturday morning but think she can quit by Friday afternoon (unless her trustees decide otherwise). Anyway, I will be there Friday and will explore san Diego but if you are available, you can show me around. We would like to have dinner with y’all on Friday (unless her trustees decide otherwise). Then we are free to do whatever on Saturday and Sunday, if you and Tyler want to do something.
We will stay at Anita’s hotel through Sunday morning (on expense account) and then at somewhere near the airport Sunday night since we have 6AM flights on Monday (yuck).
Anyway, hope we can spend some time together when we are out there. Let me know what that weekend looks like for you all.
Love you and look forward to seeing you!!!
Dad
PS1: Guess you heard from Maegan or your Mom but Mary Lemon died yesterday.
PS2: On a brighter note, I had an invited op-ed published in today’s Washington Post. It can be found in the Outlook section at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/24/AR2007082401427.html
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