Turkey Pesto Burgers

Okay I'm hungry just looking at a picture of these!  This burger is so darn good even the meatiest of men will prefer it to a normal hamburger.  It is so juicy and flavorful and scrumptious :) A good ciabatta roll is important - this is not a sesame seed bun kind of thing. It’s just one of those simple obvious things that you probably aren’t making on the regular and now I encourage you to start!

1 lb ground turkey breast

1 lb ground turkey thigh

1 container store bought pesto sauce

1 egg yolk

4-6 good rolls, such as Ciabatta or Telera

Olive oil

Sliced mozzarella or pepper jack cheese

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine by hand both types of ground turkey, pesto, and egg yolk.  Form mixture into patties and place on a plate.  Should make 4-6 patties, depending on how large you like them.  Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.

In a large oven safe frying pan (or use a large frying pan and have a cookie sheet ready to transfer patties onto before going in oven), cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, or until you get a nice golden sear on each side.  *Do not put oil or butter in the pan first as the patties are already oily from the pesto.

Add sliced cheese on top of patties and transfer to oven.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until all the way cooked through (I usually have to cut into one with a knife to make sure).

While burgers are cooking, prepare your rolls: cut in half and brush with olive oil.  Place rolls (olive oil side up) on a cookie sheet and bake in same oven for 5 minutes, so they’re lightly toasted but not hard.

Prepare your burgers to your liking!  I like to put sriracha mayo and a little more pesto on my bun.  Add lettuce/tomato/avocado/onion if you like but it’s really not needed!