Asian Burgers

I saw an Asian Turkey Burger recipe on the Rachael Ray show one day. They were having a brother burger battle, or something like that. I thought the Asian one looked really good, so I printed the recipe. I made a couple modifications, and it was yummy! I took a risk making these for my husband, it has mushrooms in it, and he really does not like mushrooms. But low and behold, he liked it! The mushrooms are really there to keep the meat moist, and give it just a little more flavor - not mushroom flavor, just flavor. I can't get my 5 year old to eat them, but I can't really get him to eat anything.

I am a picky eater, and my husband is a picky eater....too bad we are picky about completely different things! The original recipe has an Asian coleslaw to top the burger. I don't make that part, because I wouldn't like it. My husband hasn't seen the recipe, or he would probably insist I make the slaw. You could do it really easily - buy a bag of the premixed coleslaw in the produce section at the grocery store. Then just mix in your favorite brand of Asian dressing, and maybe a little mayo if you like it creamy. It would probably make a great side dish to this as well.

You can also find this recipe and other Rachael Ray recipes at Taste and Tell in her Saturdays with Rachael Ray series!

Asian Turkey Burgers
1 pound ground turkey (I use 93% lean)
1 garlic clove
1 Tbls Soy Sauce
6 mushrooms (I use the Baby Bellas, but Shitake would be great as well)
Olive Oil
Dash of Pepper

Sauce:
1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
1/2 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp sesame oil


Start by chopping up the mushrooms. It works best to saute them in a little bit of olive oil, before mixing them in with the meat. Cook for about 5 minutes. Once they are softened, add them to the turkey. Season with a dash of pepper, soy sauce, and garlic. I use a hand grater and grate the garlic in. It makes it more of a paste, so it mixes in well, and you don't ever get big chunks that you bite into.


Use your hands, and get in there! Mix together, and form into patties. You could easily make these into little sliders, but we made full size burgers here. Form them so they have a little well in the middle. Whenever I cook burgers, they always plump up and almost turn into balls. I have found that making them thinner in the middle works well. It was a yucky day here yesterday, rainy, and cold - so I couldn't use the outdoor grill. I broke out my indoor grill pan, and everything was all good!

You need to make sure the turkey is cooked all the way through. Over medium to medium-high heat it usually takes me around 15 minutes total.

Practicing with fancy camera!

While the burgers are cooking, you can work on making the sauce. It is super easy!

Mix together the Hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and the juice of 1/2 a lime. Done! I love this sauce, you could put it on grilled chicken breasts - anything really!






I like the buns to be toasted. I usually just put them in a dry frying pan with the heat a medium high for a couple minutes, or you could use the toaster. Once the burgers are done place it on the bun, and top with the sauce. Enjoy!