Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers

In my continuing quest for more recipes that don't require an oven, I came upon these turkey burgers.  They were originally actually chicken burgers (made with ground chicken), but I had ground turkey so that is what I used!  These were delicious topped with diced avocado and salsa (sort of like guacamole).  Mark liked them so much that he wanted the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

Wondering what sort of weird "bun" these are served on?  I didn't have any hamburger buns on hand and I wasn't about to turn on my oven, so I continued my fun with grilling bread.  I rolled out some pizza dough from the freezer (again) so that it was fairly thick.  I grilled it on both sides and it completely puffed up- filling up with air like a balloon!

That was awesome.  And also meant that I had essentially made one huge pita.  So after removing the bread from the grill I cut it into four sections and split it open.  I now had four burger pockets.  While I would have served these with traditional burger buns if we had them, we both actually really liked these pockets.  They held the topping well so it was overall less messy.  Also, they didn't make the burger too tall to fit your mouth around.... so- a winner!  I'll definitely do this idea again for burgers.  If you're not up for making your own grilled bread (though it is super easy), you could always just buy pita bread at the store if you want to try eating these in that way.

A couple of notes about the burgers.  They were definitely spicy so you might want to use less jalapeno if that is not your thing.  Or just be careful about the salsa on top.  Also, there are no breadcrumbs in the burgers, so the burgers themselves are gluten-free!

However you eat these burgers, they are definitely a great use for your grill this summer.   [Speaking of summer, Mark says he misses winter... did he really grow up in California? ;) ]

Jalapeno Cheddar Turkey Burgers
*burgers by themselves are gluten-free

serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (I used 1 1/4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion (about 1/2 a small yellow onion)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Suggestions For Topping/Serving:

• burger buns/ pita bread/ etc.
• cheddar cheese
• diced avocado/ guacamole
• salsa

DIRECTIONS:

1)  Heat your grill to medium-high heat.  Combine all burger ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined (don't over-mix).  Form into 4 patties.

2)  Cook the patties on the grill about 4 minutes per side until the internal temperature of each is 165F.  In the last couple of minutes, top with additional shredded cheese if desired.

3)  Assemble burgers in buns/pita/grilled bread and top as desired.  Guacamole and salsa is delicious.

(recipe adapted from Annie's Eats, originally from What's Gaby Cooking?)