Fauxrizo Turkey Burgers
Do you ever have what seems to be a great original idea, only to have it turn out to be something tons of other people have already thought of? Maybe it was a concept for a new toy or home cleaning product that would get on Shark Tank. In my case a few months ago I excitedly coined the term ‘fauxrizo’ only to find out that it was in heavy circulation among vegetarians. To my credit I wasn’t using the term to refer to vegetarian chorizo but rather one that was made with turkey instead of pork.
I didn’t grow up eating pork and most often my family cooked with turkey rather than beef (burgers, spaghetti sauce, etc.). Turkey burgers were actually the very first thing I cooked on my own once I moved out of the dorms sophomore year. For anyone that thinks that turkey can be dry or flavorless, give this recipe a shot!
Normally I might make brioche burger buns for these but I instead opted to use some of the soft pretzel rolls that I made a few days earlier. Those pretzel rolls did’t last much longer as we finished them off by the end of the week. Over the weekend I baked up another batch, this time with whole wheat flour and some spent grain. You can top your burger with cheese, veggies, or however you like; I recommend whipping up some sriracha aioli.
While it snowed outside I relaxed after dinner by putting together a Lego version of the Burton Memorial Tower, known more commonly as the Bell Tower on central campus at Michigan. I had wanted for a while to design scaled models of campus buildings and was inspired to start when I received the Lego Michigan Stadium from friends as a birthday gift. I spent many hours designing in Lego Digital Designer and then ordered pieces from a few vendors on BrickLink. I couldn’t get roof pieces in the exact color I wanted so I opted to get white pieces and paint them. Now to decide what I’ll make next!
- 1¼ pounds ground turkey
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 egg, beaten
- In a large bowl mix together all ingredients until evenly combined.
- Divide the mixture into four equal portions, then shape into burger patties. Make sure that the burgers are slightly larger than your buns/rolls, as they will shrink when cooking. They should be no more than ½ inch thick.
- Preheat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- When hot add patties to pan, being careful not to crowd them. Cook in two batches if necessary. Let the burgers cook for 4-5 minutes uncovered, allowing a nice crust to form.
- Turn the patties over and lower the heat. Place a lid on the skillet and cook another 4-5 minutes. After the burgers should be cooked through. If not, continue to cook until they are done. Add cheese to melt over top if desired.
