Barbecue Turkey Burgers

Leave it to Annie, from Annie's Eats, to provide me with a great Memorial Day menu. My folks are joining us today for a barbecue and I decided to make Annie's Barbecue Chicken Burgers and Sparkling Strawberry Lemonade as our beverage (more on that recipe for tomorrow's post).

I've been looking for another great chicken/turkey burger and I'm so glad I found this recipe. I decided to use ground turkey for this recipe because its all I had. And because turkey is such a lean meat, I added 3 tablespoons of olive oil so it wouldn't stick to the grill. Annie's recipe uses homemade barbecue sauce recipe. But I decided to use a store bought barbecue sauce. This was a great burger, which probably would be even better if I had pulled pork barbecue to top it with. I'll probably do that next time. Which means I'll definitely be making this dish again.

2 Tbsp. prepared barbecue sauce, plus more for garnish

1 lb. ground turkey

1/4 cup cornmeal (or 1/2 cup crumbled cornbread)

1 stalk green onion, minced

1 Tbsp. minced cilantro

2 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. dry mustard (or 2 tsp. prepared mustard)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil, plus more for cooking

pinch of cayenne pepper

2/3 cup chopped pulled pork (optional)

hamburger buns

sliced cheese

grilled red onion slices

1) In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, cornmeal, green onions, cilantro brown sugar and spices, 3 tablespoons oil, and 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Mix together gently until well combined. Form mixture into four equal patties. Transfer to a plate and refrigerate until ready to grill.

2) Oil grates of the grill. Place patties on the heated grill and cook for 3-5 minutes. Flip the burgers and brush the cooked sides generously with barbecue sauce. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. Flip the burgers again to brush the other cooked side with more barbecue sauce. Top with cheese slices and continue to grill until burgers are cooked through until cheese has melted. Place burger on toasted bun and top with a grilled onion slice and more barbecue sauce as desired.