It’s officially BBQ time! Now I must confess that I have mixed feelings about hamburgers. I generally dislike hamburger, but I love a medium rare hamburger straight off the grill. And I’m okay with turkey burgers. Just accept that I’m not completely normal, people. It’s just easier.
Sadly, I do not have a grill, which makes my Dad happy. For some reason he doesn’t like me around fire. And no, I am not a pyromanic. Geez Louise. I’m pretty sure it’s just a dad thing. He will be relieved to know that I no longer light candles because someone, who shall remain nameless (MaxE), would undoubtedly decide to nudge a burning candle off the table.
And to digress just a bit more – MaxE! OMG!! That little bugger has been harassing me every morning at 5:00 AM when he attacks my toes and races around the bedroom yowling. Now Emeril would get in my face when he wanted breakfast, but at least his extremely vocal meows had a purpose. Get up and feed me, woman! MaxE is just playing around.
The worst part is when I finally get up in the morning, I’m tired and a bit grumpy. MaxE eats his breakfast (but not urgently the way Emeril did, more like, Oh, you’re going to feed me now. Cool.) then he takes a long nap. Like all morning long.
What a super, indulged, no-good cat that I love and adore!
Okay, rant over. 🙂 Now back to the true purpose of this post—this yummy burger that is worthy of firing up your grill. Unlike most burgers where the bacon goes on top of the burger, in this one the bacon goes in the burger. And just to make it a little over the top, I decided to add onion strings to mix. Yeah, I totally went there.
They were sooooooo good too. I never made onion rings/strings before because I’m not a huge fan of frying (so messy) but these were surprisingly easy and added such a great crunch and flavor to the burger. So put these burgers on the menu for your next BBQ. With the bacon and onion strings, no one will ever care that you used lean turkey (which is completely made redundant! LOL!)
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Turkey Bacon Burger with Onion Strings
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
Turkey Burger Ingredients:
- 1lb ground turkey
- 6 strips bacon (about 1/3lb), cooked & crumbled
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke (optional)
- Buns
Turkey Burger Instructions:
- In a large bowl, gently combine turkey, bacon, BBQ sauce, liquid smoke and salt and pepper to taste.
- Divide into 8 thin burgers. Put a mound of cheddar cheese in the middle of four patties then top with another patty and pinch edges together.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a grill pan over medium-high heat. Add burgers and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Let burgers rest for a few minutes before serving.
- Place burger on a toasted bun and top with onion strings.
Onion Strings Ingredients:
- 1 white onion
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Peanut oil for frying
Onion Strings Instructions:
- Use a sharp knife to thinly slice the onion. Place onion in a baking dish and cover with buttermilk. Set aside for 15 minutes (this helps mellow the strong onion taste).
- In the meantime, heat oil to 340 degrees in a frying pan.
- Mix together flour, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small pie dish. Dredge the onion strings in the flour mixture. Shake to remove excess flour and place strings into hot oil. Don’t overcrowd pan or the onion strings will clump together and not get crispy. You will most likely need to do multiple batches to fry all your onion strings.
- Fry until golden brown and crispy. This takes a few minutes, and you should stir and turn the onion strings as needed to ensure all sides get golden and crisp. Removed from pan and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Taste and sprinkle with a little extra salt, if needed.
Special Notes:
If you’re cooking this on a charcoal grill (so jealous) you can eliminate the liquid smoke.
Enjoy!
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