SECRET RECIPE CLUB: TURKEY-CHORIZO BURGER WITH GREEN CHILE DRESSING

Posted in Burgers & Sandwiches, Poultry, Secret Recipe Club by

August is bit too close to the end of the summer, so the dark clouds start to contaminate my mood, as I notice the forecast showing less and less days over 90 F and more and more below 80 F, which is the divisive line between life worth living and misery.  Meteorological troubles aside, the fourth Monday of the month brings with it Reveal Day for  The Secret Recipe Club! This month I was paired with Lynsey Lou’s, a blog I’ve already been following  for a while, so of course the assignment made me super excited… it was like getting a dear colleague from work on the Secret Santa drawing…  Lynsey has been married to Spencer since 2008, and is convinced that the way to a man’s heart involves food. They both have fond memories of a particular  batch of brownies taken to his frat house when they started dating. Too cute! If I remember correctly, Ina Garten has a similar experience with her husband of many many years, Jeffrey. Great relationships might very well start around the table. Or around a lab bench, I suppose.  😉   One of the lines I loved the most in Lynsey’s About page was this one:

Cooking, like many other things, is a learning experience that comes with a lot of trial and error.

I feel exactly the same way, and like her, love to expand my horizons trying recipes from different cuisines whenever possible. So many recipes appealed to me this month, it was tough to settle on one.  Some of my final contenders are here: White Chocolate Coconut Cookies, Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Ganache (sigh), White Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cookies, and her Overnight Cinnamon Rolls (you gotta stop and check the recipe, perfect to start the day with freshly baked rolls without having to wake up at 4am).  Since so often I lean towards sweets in the Secret Recipe Club, I forced myself to do something different this time.  So, without further ado, I present you with Turkey Chorizo Burgers with Green Chile Mayo.  A mouthful of a name for a fantastic recipe that Phil and I absolutely loved!

Turkey Chorizo Burger

TURKEY-CHORIZO BURGER WITH GREEN CHILE DRESSING
(slightly modified from Lynsey Lou’s blog)

for the burgers:
8 Oz fresh chorizo, casings removed
1-1 1/2 Pounds ground turkey
2 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 Tsp salt
1/4 Tsp cayenne pepper
4 slices Jack cheese
hamburger buns (optional)

for the dressing:
1 Poblano chile
3/4 cup yogurt
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Make the chile dressing: Heat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the cleaned chile on the prepared baking sheet and place in oven.  Roast for approximately 15 minutes, until skin is charred and blistered.  Rotating during the roasting process.  Place the roasted pepper in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Remove the pepper from the bowl and remove the skin, stem and seeds.  Finely chop the pepper.  In a food processor, combine the chile, yogurt, olive oil, and lime juice and process until the mixture is smooth.  Season, to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.

Heat grill to medium. In a large bowl combine turkey, chorizo, Worcestershire sauce, salt and cayenne pepper.  Gently mix the ingredients together, being careful to not overwork the meat.  Divide the meat evenly into 4 pieces, approximately 8 ounces each.  Gently form each section of meat into 1-inch thick patties.

Place the prepared patties on the grill and cook to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees, 5 to 7 minutes per side. Once burgers are cooked to desired doneness, transfer to a plate and top with cheese.

Spread a generous helping of green chile mayonnaise on the top and bottom of hamburger buns, if using.  Place the burger patties on bottom portion of each bun.  Top with lettuce, spinach or arugula and top with the top portion of the bun.  Serve immediately. If not using buns, assemble the burgers using appropriate substitutions (we went with grilled eggplant slices). Spoon the dressing on top, and serve with your favorite toppings.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

composite

Comments:  The main modification I made from Lynsey’s original was to skip the mayo and use yogurt and olive oil instead for the dressing. We are both very fond of turkey burgers, but this poblano-infused dressing totally stole the show! Poblano peppers are delicious in their natural form, but roasting improves their flavor and texture quite a bit. Once you process the roasted pepper with the yogurt, you are in for a very special treat…  I found myself sampling a teaspoon here, another there while the burgers were outside on the grill.  Really superb.

These days we almost never have bread with our burgers, so don’t be shocked by the absence of bread from our spread of goodies….  We like our burgers served over hearty lettuce leaves, but this time I grilled thick slices of eggplant and that worked even better.

dinnerserved1

Adding chorizo to ground turkey works great to give a little extra fat and a boost of flavor.  Grilled corn on the cob, avocado, and tomato slices were perfect as side dishes for our meal.

Turkey BUrger Sally

And, of course, I was a super happy camper next day, look at my lunch!

MyLunch

Who said leftovers have to be boring?
😉

Well, folks, that’s all for this Reveal Day… Lynsey, I hope you also had a ton of fun stalking your assigned blog. As usual, I invite my readers to browse the collection of goodies, the result of the hard work of my virtual friends from Group D of The Secret Recipe Club. Just poke the alien-looking frog at the end of the post and have fun!

ONE YEAR AGO: Taco Salad

TWO YEARS AGO: Semolina Sourdough Boule 

THREE YEARS AGO: Forgive me, for I have sinned

FOUR YEARS AGO: Cracked Wheat Sandwich Bread

FIVE YEARS AGO:  Au Revoir, my Bewitching Kitchen

SIX YEARS AGO:  French Bread

46 thoughts on “SECRET RECIPE CLUB: TURKEY-CHORIZO BURGER WITH GREEN CHILE DRESSING”

  1. Yes, yes and yes! Thanks you for making the buns ‘optional’ because I have not used them for decades and, whilst I may use sweet potatoes, chips [oops, French fries for you 🙂 !] are also rarely on my plates which look very much like yours! Hippocrates way back said ‘Let food be thy medicine . . .’ 🙂 ! Tastes way better that way anyways . . .Am shopping tomorrow and turkey mince and chorizo will be on the menu as I have never tasted both at once . . . and absolutely love the sound of that gorgeous fresh dressing . . . yippee: shall probably make enough for two days also . . . thanks Sally!

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    • We both feel that the bread makes the whole meal super heavy and we feel much better without it – of course, if we were to make this for company we would have some regular buns around too, but if it’s just us, no bread, thank you very much!

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  7. I lol’d at your first sentence! (Is lol’d even a word? I guess it is now. :P) I am also feeling sad that summer is coming to a close – it would be great if it lasted for a few extra months!

    These burgers look delicious! I love your bunless option – I looked at your first picture and thought “too bad avocados are too gushy to pretend to be bread”. Haha

    Happy reveal day!

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    • aren’t avocados great, though? we go through many every week – today my lunch was an improvised version of chicken laarb, with sliced avocado. Maybe not a winner in a photo contest, but…. wow…. great flavor!

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  9. “Cooking, like many other things, is a learning experience that comes with a lot of trial and error.” amen to that my friend. I’ve been through so many cooking disasters, more than I like ti admit.
    Anyways, being a huge chorizo fan, I’m sure I’d love these bad boys. The Worcestershire, cayenne, and blue cheese should add a nice zip to it!

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    • It was a superb meal, and the dressing had a lot to do with it – Poblanos are so special! “Someone” should consider including them in a bread… wink wink… 😉

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  16. I may be late the the party as I have had friends and family with me for the last week, but I hope you still have some of this left for me, as this is JUST the kind of food I love! Karen

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  18. You’ve given me so many ideas with this recipe Sally, I’m excited. At some point turkey burgers fell of the grid and I think they need to come back into play :D. The poblano dressing sounds scrumptious and I’ve been trying to figure out a way to use up our garden jalapeno (so beautiful and fresh) that I may well do a little sub here for the sauce and prepare it for tonight’s dinner. I’m thinking I might try roasting the chile too this time… eee! I just had breakfast and I’m already hungry for dinner. Thank you for the inspiration!

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    • Oh, I hope you make the dressing, roasting the chiles makes a huge difference, I think..

      glad to have inspired you, as your Inspired Edibles does that to me A LOT! 😉

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  21. This sounds delicious Sally! The pepper yogurt combo is genius. We haven’t had a turkey burger in ages. Better make this one before – gasp – grilling season ends. I too am not thrilled by the turn in the weather. I had to wear a jacket today. 😦

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