Greek Turkey Burgers

After months and months of frigid cold, we’ve settled back into our run-of-the-mill early Spring weather here. Which basically means that our days alternate between 70° and sunny (love those!) to 30° and snowy. It seems like every weekend this month has been like that—a beautiful, flip-flop-worthy Saturday followed by a bring-back-out-the-parka Sunday. I ain’t complaining. I’ll take it. It just means that we gotta make the most out of those Saturdays! And one of my favorite ways to celebrate warmer weather is by bringing the grill out of hiding.

These Greek turkey burgers are an oldie-but-goodie in our house. It’s one of the very first meals Craig and I made early in our marriage. We discovered early on in our marriage that neither of us were very skilled housekeepers (more on that later in the week), and we quickly learned that grilling=fewer dishes. And fewer dishes=both of us being very, very happy. So these burgers went into weekly rotation.

For some reason, they dropped off the menu a while back, and it wasn’t until I was glancing around the fridge this weekend and saw some ground turkey and feta kickin’ around that I remember this Johnston family classic. These burgers are awesome not only because they taste fantastic, but also because of all the filings, they do a great job of stretching a pound of ground turkey. We try to only buy sustainably-raised meat in our house, which can be pretty pricey, so it’s always discouraging to make burgers and see that much moolah go into only four burgers. But this recipe gets you six large burgers! And if you didn’t have monster potato buns like I had (yum.), you could easily get eight normal-sized burgers. And, they freeze awesomely. We doubled the recipe, and stashed our extras in the freezer for quick-and-easy post-baby grilling.

If you’ve ever grilled turkey burgers and been left with dry hockey pucks, you know that working with ground turkey can be a bit tricky because it’s so low in fat. And low in fat=low in juiciness and flavor. The add-ins help keep these burgers flavorful, but to keep them juicy and tender, it takes a gentle hand on the grill. You’ll want to grill them on medium-high heat and only flip them once—the more you handle them, the more juices you lose. And never, ever (when you’re grilling any kind of burger) press down on the burgers with a spatula. You’re just squeezing out all the juiciness! And like you do when cooking all meat, make sure to let it rest for 5-10 minutes before you dig in.

Oh, and make sure you have a big ole bowl of 10 minute tzatziki for slathering on top.

I hope, wherever you are, the weather has been at least giving you a little bit of a break. Welcome to Spring (almost), friends!

Enjoy.

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Greek Turkey Burgers

Yield: 6 larger burgers

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 33 minutes

We love serving these Greek turkey burgers topped with tzatziki, grilled red onions, fresh tomato slices and crisp Romaine lettuce. But feel free to doctor these burgers up with whatever tickles your fancy—grilled zucchini slices are also amazing.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 6 ounces crumbled feta
• 1 cup black olives, sliced
• 3 green onions, sliced thinly
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 batch 10 Minute Tzatziki
• Buns and burger toppings

Instructions

1. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Oil the grates.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, feta, black olives, green onions, lemon juice, oregano, dill, salt and pepper using clean hands. Form into six burgers.
3. Grill the burgers over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
4. Top burgers with tzatziki and burger toppings.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 large burger
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 590Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 161mgSodium: 999mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 37g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

How’s your weather been? Anyone done any grilling yet this spring?