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Thai turkey burger with sauce drippings from the front.
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5 from 4 votes

thai turkey burgers

Kind of healthy. Seriously delicious.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: thai turkey burger, turkey burger
Servings: 6
Calories: 433kcal
Author: romain | glebekitchen

Equipment

  • You need a BBQ for this - charcoal is better

Ingredients

Flavouring paste

  • 1/4 cup green chili - seeded. Finger hot (jwala) or even jalapeno, coarsely chopped. You don't want to use a small Thai green chili here. You won't get enough green chili flavour (or it will be really spicy if you add more)
  • 1/2 cup cilantro - leaves and stems, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup shallot - coarsely chopped.

Magic burger sauce

  • 6 tbsp kewpie mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp sambal oelek

Thai turkey burgers

  • 2 lb ground turkey
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp black pepper - coarse. I like butcher's grind for this.
  • 3-4 tbsp toasted rice powder - see notes. You can buy this but it's really easy to make.
  • salt when it hits the grill to taste
  • 6 burger buns - I like brioche (not sweet) buns for this

Instructions

Do your prep

  • Coarsely chop the green chili and shallot.
  • Combine the chopped green chili, shallot, garlic and cilantro sprigs in a small food processor and process until finely chopped. You can use a knife for this as well. Just make sure everything is super finely chopped.
  • Prepare your garnishes. Slice some tomatoes (2 per burger unless the tomatoes are really big. Thinly slice some red onion. Wash the lettuce.
  • Light your barbecue. You want it set up for high, indirect heat.

Make the magic burger sauce

  • Combine the kewpie mayonnaise and sambal oelek. Mix thoroughly. The easiest special sauce of all time is ready to go.

Prep the turkey burgers

  • Combine the ground turkey, fish sauce, chopped chili/shallot/cilantro/garlic mixture, black pepper and two tablespoon of toasted rice powder. Mix with your hands. Yes. Your hands. They are without a doubt the best cooking tool you own.
  • This is where you need to make a judgement call. You want the turkey mixture to hold together. Try making a patty. If it is too wet add more toasted rice powder. You want it just dry enough to hold together from the plate to the grill if you use both hands to move it and are careful. I find 3 tbsp to be about the minimum for the ground turkey I get here.
  • Once you are happy with the texture of your turkey mixture form it into 6 equal patties and transfer to a plate.

Grill the Thai turkey burgers

  • Place the burgers over indirect heat. That means build the fire on one side and put the burgers on the other side. Use both hands to move the patties. Be careful. Salt liberally. That's important. Don't go overboard on the healthy thing.
  • Cover the grill. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Once they are firm enough to move flip them carefully. Season the second side with salt. Cook another 5 minutes. They should be fairly firm at this point (internal temperature around 130F). Note that 130F is not the target final temperature. This is just an indication they should be firm enough to handle.
  • Move the patties to the direct heat zone. Cook them for thirty seconds to one minute. You want them to colour up. You don't want them to burn. Once they are browned to your satisfaction flip them and cook them for about as long as you did on the first side.
  • Return the burgers to the indirect zone and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 160F.

Assemble the Thai turkey burgers

  • Toast your buns. Smear the special sauce onto both sides of each bun. Put the burger on the bottom and top with the tomatoes then the onions and finally the lettuce. A little salt and pepper on the tomatoes is a nice touch. Enjoy!

Notes

Toasted rice powder is exactly what it sounds like. Take about 1/2 cup of jasmine rice. Toss it into a large dry skillet over medium heat (you want to try to get the rice in a one grain layer). Toss every 15-20 seconds or so. Dry roast the rice until it gets to be a light golden colour. Takes me about 10 minutes. Your stove is different so go for colour. Let it cool and grind in a spice grinder.

Nutrition

Calories: 433kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 988mg | Potassium: 615mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 148IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 3mg