Gluten Free Turkey burgers with sage

This weekend I invited a client over to make gluten free turkey burgers.  I had made a video of how I make it (less the chopping of the onion) to demonstrate how easy this is to make.  And these gluten free burgers are really tasty – even better the next day when you eat the leftovers when the sage is really evident.

I am sure you could also put this into a baking bread loaf pan and make it into a meatloaf, too?  But I prefer the burgers as they do not take as much time to cook!

Gluten Free Turkey Burgers with Sage
makes about 12 medium sized burgers

2 pounds ground turkey
2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped (can use dried sage, too)
1 large yellow onion, chopped (preferably small vs large chunks)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2-2/3 cup of ground flax seed (flax seed meal)

Preparation:

• Chop the onion, place into a 8-cup bowl.
  Add the ground turkey to the bowl.  Add the salt, pepper, ground flax seeds and sage.
• I use gloves to mix the ingredients so the onions, flax and seasoning is all mixed up.  If it seems too mushy and soft, then add a little more flax seed meal.  Better to start with less than to have too much and they will be a bit too dense.
• Depending on the size of burgers you want, scoop out a handful of turkey mixture, form a ball with both hands making sure all the onions are IN the ball and not falling out.  Flatten the ball into a burger patty and place onto a plate. 
• Heat a thick pan on medium-high heat.  I have a cast iron skillet which takes a good 4-5 minutes to heat up.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter or ghee.  When melted, wait another 30 seconds before adding the burger patties to the pan.
• On this medium-high heat, cook the burger for a good 3-4 minutes before flipping.  You will then want to lower the heat to medium heat, flip the burgers and cook for another 4-5 minutes.  Cut one burger open to see if it is cooked all the way through.  If it is still a little pink, you can either turn the heat down and cover the burgers/pan for 1-2 minutes, or just leave it as is for another 1-2 minutes.  Or, you can cover the pan and leave the burgers still cooking but turn the flame off (if using an electric stove, you can just turn it off and keep the pan on that burner – it will continue to cook as the element will still be hot)

NOTE:  You can also have containers set up with wax paper and put the extra burgers into the was paper, fold the wax paper over the burger, and stack a second row on top.  This may help with putting them in the freezer right away rather than transferring them off the plate.

I also show this in the video so you can see how to reuse those plastic containers you get form the chinese restaurant!

I find these gluten free turkey burgers with sage best with a slice of Jarlsberg Swiss  cheese on top which you would put onto the burger once you flipped it, and waited a good 3 minutes.  When the cheese is melted, then usually the burger is ready, too.  Usually, but check it as no one wants to eat an uncooked turkey burger!

If you cook it too slowly, you will have a very dry burger. 
You can also make these in the over, or put them on the grill.

They taste even better the next day after being cooked as the sage is really evident then.  So make at least 4-6 burgers so you have leftovers!  Freeze the cooked burgers, too so you have one less thing to make in the future.

Here is the video tutorial or scroll down for the embedded version. 

Please let me know if you make them….and how you liked them! 
Simple recipe yet amazing flavor and easy to make!

In the video, I also suggested to add some avocado slices on top of the burger.  OMG, it is really tasty!  I totally forgot about that part.  Good think I looked at my own video! lol

I like them best with roasted potato slices and steamed broccoli and butter on the side, or asparagus. In the photo to the right, I put teh turkey burger with sage onto a bed of sauteed kale greens.

This past weekend, I made sauteed caramelized brussel sprouts.  Client said he didn’t actually like brussel sprouts, but mainly because of how they were made.  My caramelized version sounded so much better….and he liked them! Actually had seconds. Guess that will be another blog post and video coming soon….