Description
Juicy, tender turkey burgers that are topped with grilled pineapple and a homemade teriyaki sauce. Perfect for summer or fall grilling!
Ingredients
- Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (use tamari for gluten free or coconut aminos if avoiding soy)
- 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup crushed pineapple plus juice*
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger (for this recipe I like to use ginger paste to keep things simple)
- 1 tablespoon corn starch + 1 tablespoon filtered water
- Turkey Burger Patties
- 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey (I use 85% lean and 15% fat but any combo will work. You can also sub ground chicken or even ground beef)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons gluten free oats, crushed (just use hands to break them up into smaller pieces)
- 1 tablespoon crushed pineapple
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (use tamari for gluten free or coconut aminos for soy free)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- For Burgers
- Buns, sliced in half (use gluten free if avoiding gluten)**
- 2 tablespoons grape seed oil, divided
- 4 to 8 Pineapple slices***
- Mayonnaise (optional)
- butter lettuce leaves
- red onion, sliced
Instructions
- Make the teriyaki sauce: Add all ingredients EXCEPT cornstarch to a small sauce pot. Whisk together, bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes, whisking frequently. The sauce should have reduced by half and thickened slightly, reduce the heat to a simmer. In a small bowl whisk together the corn starch and the tablespoon of water until smooth. Whisk the corn starch slurry into the teriyaki sauce. Allow to simmer for 1 more minute, it should be really thick by now. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool.
- Make the Turkey burger patties: Add all of the ingredients for the turkey burgers to a large mixing bowl. Gently mix together with your hands or a spatula. Form the patties into disks that are about 1/4 of an inch larger than the buns your are using. Use your thumb to press an indentation in the center of each pattie to prevent them from bulging in the center when cooking. You should have 4 patties. Cover with foil and place int he fridge.
- Prepare ingredients for your burgers Heat your indoor or outdoor grill or even a large nonstick skillet to medium high heat. Place the sliced buns on the heat source face down without any oil. Toast for about 5 minutes. You want to get the buns toasted so they don’t fall apart with all the teriyaki sauce. Once you pull the buns off the heat brush your grill with 1 tablespoon oil. Place the pineapple slices on the grill and cook for about 5 minutes per side, or until they are nice and warm. Remove them and cover with foil to keep warm. While the buns and pineapple are cooking slice your onion and get your butter lettuce leaves ready.
- Cook the turkey burgers: On the same grill or skillet that you cooked the pineapple brush it with the remaining oil and place your burgers on the grill. Grill for 5 to 7 minutes or until your see the sides of the burger begin to cook half way up the patty. Flip and cook another 3 to 6 minutes or until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the burgers and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
- Assemble the burgers: On each half of your bun spread some mayonnaise. Top the bottom half with a piece of butter lettuce followed by a burger patty, followed by a few onion slices and 1 or 2 pineapple slices. Drizzle the teriyaki sauce over the burger. Place the top bun on top. Devour immediately.
Notes
*You will only need an 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple, and you will still have some leftover. Make sure there is no sugar in the can, only crushed pineapple and pineapple juice.
**For gluten free buns I do not have a brand to recommend. I tried Udi’s gluten free buns and wouldn’t recommend them for this recipe. Because of the teriyaki sauce you need a bun that is hearty and Udi’s disintegrated immediately. Look for a hearty bun. Please share in the comments below if you have any brand suggestions, it would really help people out when making the recipe! 🙂
***For the pineapple slices sometimes you can find pineapple at your grocery store that the skin has been removed and cored. You can use that and slice the pineapple into thick rounds yourself. If you can’t find fresh pineapple that way then you can buy pineapple slices canned. Look for pineapple stored in pineapple juice, no sugar. I found I preferred the fresh pineapple for more flavor but the canned pineapple was easier to grill and to work with than the fresh. Either way they are both tasty.
You can make the teriyaki sauce several days in advance. You can also form the patties up to 3 to 4 hours in advance – cover and store in the fridge.
Teriyaki sauceis adapted from: The Adventure Bite
