When my good friend Kim from
Stirring the Pot announced her
Thanksgiving Dinner Burger Challenge , I knew immediately I had to join in and I knew my burgers had to include my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal, stuffing! I like my Mom's version which uses turkey sausage, bread, celery, onions and sage. I wanted to incorporate the sausage ingredients and flavors into the turkey burger itself, and since I was using turkey breast, I wanted to make sure it was plenty moist by cooking down the stuffing mixture and adding some grated apple.
Also adding to the moisture is a drool-worthy
Lemon-Sage Mayo, I mixed together using sage from my herb garden. To get even more spectacular sides into the mix, I added homemade cranberry sauce, leftover
Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Poppy Seeds , and served these sliders (
mini burgers are always more fun) on potato rolls for a nod to mashed potatoes. And so there you have them, my
Spectacular Side Dish Turkey Sliders. Juicy, messy and full of flavor.
(
Makes 12 sliders)
Turkey Stuffing Slider Patties:
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 leaves fresh sage, minced
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash of red chili pepper flakes
1/2 cup whole wheat panko or bread crumbs
1 lb ground turkey breast
1/2 tart apple, grated (
I used a Honeycrisp)
1 Tbsp olive oil
In a medium pan, heat pan over medium-high heat. Add butter and when melted add onion, celery, and garlic and saute until vegetables start to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, fennel, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Mix well and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add bread crumbs and stir well, cooking until breadcrumbs start to lightly brown, about another 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, place ground turkey and grated apple. Add cooled vegetable mixture to bowl and mix together gently but thoroughly without over-mixing. (Hands work best). Form into 12 small slider patties and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat lightly with olive oil. Cook sliders about 3-4 minutes per side until the sides are lightly browned and the burgers cooked through.
To assemble the sliders: Prepare potato roll slider buns by slicing in half and toasting in a lightly oiled pan until browned and toasted. Spread bottom buns with
Lemon-Sage Mayo (recipe below), and top with a small scoop of shredded lettuce or warmed
Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Poppy Seeds (
recipe here ). Place a
Turkey Stuffing Slider Patty on top of shredded sprouts, and garnish with a dollop of fresh cranberry sauce and the top bun. Serve warm with lots of napkins and enjoy!
Lemon-Sage Mayo
by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 tsp whole grain mustard
5 sage leaves, minced
zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt & black pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.
Notes/Results: Yes, there is a lot going on in these sliders but it actually all works together--like eating a plate of the best side dishes of Thanksgiving. The burgers turned out to be very moist--I just don't make turkey breast burgers anymore without grating an apple or some zucchini into them, and I liked the texture that the little pieces of cooked onion and celery added. (
BTW--if you think the burgers look pink in spots, that is from the apple--I left the skin on when I grated them and the burgers are fully cooked!) These are 2-napkin burgers--I am unable to make a tiny, flat slider, but messy can be fun. ;-) The
Lemon-Sage Mayo is really good if you are a sage fan and would work well on a turkey sandwich too. For the cranberry sauce, I just did a basic version--sugar, water, cranberries, fresh orange juice and orange zest, simmered and cooked down on the stove. The Brussels sprouts were a bit of an afterthought but I really liked them, slightly warm on the burger. The potato buns were store bought and tasted great toasted. I was very happy with how these turned out from top to bottom and would make them again.
by Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Makes 12 sliders)
Turkey Stuffing Slider Patties:
1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 leaves fresh sage, minced
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash of red chili pepper flakes
1/2 cup whole wheat panko or bread crumbs
1 lb ground turkey breast
1/2 tart apple, grated (I used a Honeycrisp)
1 Tbsp olive oil
In a medium pan, heat pan over medium-high heat. Add butter and when melted add onion, celery, and garlic and saute until vegetables start to soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, fennel, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Mix well and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add bread crumbs and stir well, cooking until breadcrumbs start to lightly brown, about another 5 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, place ground turkey and grated apple. Add cooled vegetable mixture to bowl and mix together gently but thoroughly without over-mixing. (Hands work best). Form into 12 small slider patties and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat lightly with olive oil. Cook sliders about 3-4 minutes per side until the sides are lightly browned and the burgers cooked through.
To assemble the sliders:
Notes/Results: Yes, there is a lot going on in these sliders but it actually all works together--like eating a plate of the best side dishes of Thanksgiving. The burgers turned out to be very moist--I just don't make turkey breast burgers anymore without grating an apple or some zucchini into them, and I liked the texture that the little pieces of cooked onion and celery added. (BTW--if you think the burgers look pink in spots, that is from the apple--I left the skin on when I grated them and the burgers are fully cooked!) These are 2-napkin burgers--I am unable to make a tiny, flat slider, but messy can be fun. ;-) The Lemon-Sage Mayo is really good if you are a sage fan and would work well on a turkey sandwich too. For the cranberry sauce, I just did a basic version--sugar, water, cranberries, fresh orange juice and orange zest, simmered and cooked down on the stove. The Brussels sprouts were a bit of an afterthought but I really liked them, slightly warm on the burger. The potato buns were store bought and tasted great toasted. I was very happy with how these turned out from top to bottom and would make them again.