Green Chili Turkey Burgers

It's 100 degrees in Portland. I do not want to turn on the oven! Our little house cooks in this kind of weather and adding another 300 degrees just isn't gonna happen. So, it's BBQ time! We made green chili turkey burgers, these were not spicy, but really flavorful, tender and juicy. We ate them covered in grilled onions and guacamole with watermelon slices on the side. Awesome 100 degree solution. 

Green Chili Turkey Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1 small (4oz) can of mild chopped green chilies
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
 pinch of salt

With your hands, mix together the ground meat, chilies, cheese, bread crumbs, egg and salt. Form into four patties* and let the meat rest for 10 minutes or so while the grill heats up and you sort out your fixings. 

Grill until internal temperature of the patties reaches 160 degrees. (Don't be like us and leave the metal thermometer in a patty while you reach for a spatula and then grab the thermometer burning your tender fingers. If you do happen to do this, we suggest ice cold water for your fingers and ice cold beer for the rest of your damaged self.)

*I once read on the Internets that if you make an indentation in the middle of your burger patty they will cook up flat rather than like over-inflated footballs. It works! It works!

A few things about this recipe...

We made similar burgers the next night using beef as we were out of turkey... I liked the turkey better, but the beef was good too. Use what you like. And, since we put cheese in the patties, we didn't put more cheese on the burgers, however, more cheese is almost always better, so more cheese would be worth thinking about. :) 

If it's not 100 degrees, or if you're blessed with AC and feel like turning on the oven, I think this would make a great turkey meatloaf rather than grilled burgers. The egg and breadcrumbs keep everything together nicely and the chilies and cheese keep everything juicy. 

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