Smoky BBQ Turkey Burgers with Chipotle Mayo
 
 
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Patties:
  • 1.5 kg ground turkey
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • ½ tsp liquid smoke
  • ¼ cup Applewood smoked cheddar, grated
  • Salt and pepper
  • .
  • Chipotle Mayo:
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, coarsely chopped
  • ⅔ cup mayonnaise
  • .
  • Onion rings:
  • 2 large sweet onions, cut into rings ~1/2 inch wide
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ~3/4 cup lager beer
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • ⅔ tsp kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • .
  • 4 hamburger buns**
  • Sliced Applewood smoked cheddar
  • Your favourite barbecue sauce***
Instructions
  1. Mix all burger patty ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Form into 4 (rather large) patties, trying not to overwork the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
  2. In a small mixing bowl, combine chipotle mayo ingredients. Set aside.
  3. Now, the onion rings (if you're making them yourself- no judgement if you buy them pre-made)... Fill a heavy Dutch oven or cast iron pot with a few inches of oil and heat on medium-high until it reaches 365° to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
  4. Cut and separate the onion slices into individual rings (the centres, which don't make good rings can be saved for another purpose).
  5. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper together. Whisk in just enough beer to make a smooth paste, working the mixture as little as possible. Whisk in more beer (about ½ cup) until the batter is smooth and creamy, about the consistency of pancake batter. Using tongs, dip an onion ring into the batter and flip to coat completely, shaking excess batter back into the bowl. Drop the ring into the oil and repeat, working in batches so as not to crowd the pot. (Allow the oil to come back up to temperature before continuing with another batch.)
  6. Fry until golden, flipping occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the rings using tong, and transfer to the prepared sheet pan to drain. Season with additional salt.
  7. Fry burgers in a pan or cook on a barbecue until the meat is fully cooked through. In the final minute of cooking, place slices of smoked cheddar overtop and cover to melt.
  8. Spread a layer of chipotle mayo on each of the buns. Top with a burger and a glug of barbecue sauce and top with a couple onion rings. Serve immediately.
Notes
* Onion ring recipe adapted from The Kitchn. It's my favourite, tried and true battered onion ring technique (http://bit.ly/1sUXqG9). Note that the batter must be made right before frying because the carbon dioxide in the beer dissipates quickly. If making your own onion rings seems like too hefty a task, onion rings can be purchased at most grocery stores in the hot food section.

** I made fresh pretzel buns because I'm a nut. That recipe can be found here: http://bit.ly/1EHuecq

*** Oh yeah, more notes! Use a glug of whatever barbecue sauce you like. If you don't have any in the cupboard never fear- making your own is a snap!
Recipe here: http://bit.ly/1kXX6sg
and here: http://bit.ly/1EdtXCO
Recipe by Port and Fin at https://portandfin.com/smoky-bbq-turkey-burgers-with-chipotle-mayo/