How do you make a turkey burger juicy? With grated zucchini! This turkey zucchini burger has basil, onion, and garlic, served with garlic mayo
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Turkey is much leaner than beef or pork, so making a ground turkey burger that still gives you the satisfaction of eating a juicy burger can be a challenge.
It’s a trick I learned while making these spicy turkey and zucchini burgers with Middle Eastern flavors from The Jerusalem Cookbook.
No, the burgers don’t taste like zucchini, and yes, the grated zucchini will do great so the burgers don’t dry out.
Just make sure you’re using fresh summer zucchini and not something that’s shipped thousands of miles away out of season in the dead of winter.
Zucchini doesn’t add much flavor and ground turkey is bland too, so we need to spice up our turkey burgers with herbs and spices.
In this Italian-inspired turkey burger, we add chopped fresh basil and oregano to the burger mix and serve the burger with a layer of garlic mayo.
Turkey Zucchini Burger with Garlic Mayo
These turkey burgers contain no binder, so are best prepared gently on the stovetop rather than the grill.
If you prefer to grill them, I recommend squeezing some excess moisture out of the shredded zucchini and adding some mayonnaise to the burger mix. The egg in the mayo will help bind the burger while it cooks, and the oil in the mayo will help the burgers stay juicy.
I’ve found zucchini to have a higher water content than patty pan or other types of summer squash, so they’re the best type of summer squash to use in this recipe.
ingredients
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1 pound ground turkey (thigh preferred)
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2 spring onions, white and green parts, chopped
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2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
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1 garlic clove, chopped
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3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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3/4 pound zucchini, grated (about 2 cups)
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2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
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garlic mayo
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1/2 cup mayonnaise
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1 garlic clove, finely chopped
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Rest of the burgers
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Several lettuce leaves
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Thinly sliced red onion
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Thinly sliced tomato
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Burger bun
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butter
method
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Make the burger mix:
In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, spring onions, chopped basil and oregano, garlic, black pepper and salt. Mix thoroughly with clean hands. Then mix in the grated zucchini until well distributed in the ground turkey.
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Form burger patties and fry on both sides:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully form six patties with the turkey and zucchini mixture.
Fry the patties in batches for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. The heat shouldn’t be too high, or the patties may brown before they’re done. Place on a plate to keep warm.
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Toast buns:
When you’re done panning the burgers, wipe out any burned bits. Melt some butter in the pan and place the buns in the pan, cut side down. Increase the heat to medium-high. Remove the buns from the pan when the edges start to brown.
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Prepare Garlic Mayonnaise:
Whisk together the finely chopped garlic and mayonnaise in a small bow.
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build burgers:
This is how we recommend building the burger. Start with the bottom half of the burger bun. Spread a layer of garlic mayo on top. Place a layer of lettuce leaf over the mayonnaise. Place the burger on the lettuce. Put the onion on the burger. Place a tomato slice on the onion. If you like, put another lettuce leaf on top of the tomato. Top with the other half of the bun. The lettuce leaf on the bottom of the burger keeps the juices from the burger from running into the bottom bun and making it soggy.
