Thai Turkey Burgers

Delicious on a Tuesday. Worthy of a casual dinner with friends. And easy. Thai turkey burgers. A real crowd pleaser.

In a healthy sort of way. Any night of the week. Nothing not to love here.

Some green chilies. A little shallot. Garlic. Cilantro. And fish sauce. There has to be fish sauce.

On a bun. With a spicy kewpie mayo burger sauce.

A little lettuce. Some tomato. A few strands of red onions. This one gets my diabolically simple badge.

Sometimes you just get lucky

Every now and then I just fall into a recipe. Without trying. Without thinking even. This is one of those times. It just happened.

Tuesday night. Nothing in the fridge. Indian-ish lamb burgers on the brain.

Hit my local grocery store. No ground lamb. No ground pork even.

Lots of ground turkey though. Which makes sense. To me anyway. Who actually wants ground turkey? Turns out I do. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I decided to try. Wasn’t happy about it. Grabbed the turkey. Some brioche buns. And went home without a plan. Sometimes you just need to eat. Can’t always be great.

Thai turkey burgers surprised me

I wasn’t expecting this. Not even a little bit. Don’t think I’ve cooked ground turkey in 10 years. My bad.

First bite. “Huh. This is actually pretty good.”

Third bite. “This is really good. I’m going to have to remember this one.”

Fifth bite. “I’m actually thinking this might be glebekitchen worthy.”

Last bite. “This one is a keeper! I’m doing a Thai turkey burgers blog post.”

So I did. Here it is.

Simple Asian ingredients

This isn’t really Thai. But I have to call it something. Don’t have a better name. Could be Asian turkey burgers. Southeast Asian maybe?

But it could be Thai. If turkey burgers were a thing in Thailand.

That’s the beauty of making stuff up. Freedom to name it. It’s a bit ridiculous I suppose. But food is supposed to be fun. So I’m not super worried about it.

The ingredients could be Thai. Could be Vietnamese as well. Thai turkey burgers. Vietnamese turkey burgers. You choose.

The burger sauce though. Not Thai. Or Vietnamese. It’s a Japanese Indonesian love child.

Turkey isn’t big in Thailand either. You can call me out on that. If you have nothing better to do I guess. But I’ve already said it. So why bother?

I’m kidding. Call me out if you want. I made this up. I called it Thai turkey burgers.

It’s culinary fiction. Rolls of the tongue better than Japan-Indonesian south-east Asian turkey burgers. So I’m going with it.

Turkey. Green chili. Shallots. Cilantro. Fish sauce. Black Pepper. Sambal oelek. And kewpie mayo. Hard to go wrong really.

Don’t fear the fish sauce

I’ve said this many times. Safe bet I’ll say it again. Don’t fear the fish sauce. Please don’t fear the fish sauce.

I get why you might. The name is bad. Mmm… fish sauce. Clearly nobody asked marketing what to call it.

It doesn’t smell great. Kind of nasty actually. Not something you want to put on your ice cream.

It doesn’t even taste good. Straight up anyway. I’ve done fish sauce tastings. Some are better than others. But I’m not rushing to do another tasting any time soon.

I don’t understand it. It’s culinary voodoo. Magic. Somehow fish sauce makes almost everything taste better.

That’s not exactly true. I do understand it. In theory anyway.

Fish sauce is high in glutamates. Glutamates are culinary gold. Key part of umami. Somehow the brain knows. Even when the nose says no. Absolutely fascinating.

It’s also a safe bet you’ve had it. Probably loved it even.

Have you ever eaten at a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant? Yes?

Did you like the food? Yes?

Yes to the first question? You’ve had fish sauce. That’s almost guaranteed. And if you liked the food then you like fish sauce.

Roasted rice powder makes Thai turkey burgers work

Ground turkey is wet. Really wet. Add some fish sauce and it’s too wet to handle. Near impossible to get onto the grill.

I did it the first time. Had to carefully slide the patties from the plate onto the grill. It wasn’t easy. Not at all.

So I made one change from my original Tuesday night epiphany. To make it a little easier to handle. A trick I learned making bun cha.

Toasted rice powder. Sounds exotic. But it isn’t. Dry pan. Few tablespoons of glutinous or jasmine rice. Toast. Cool. Grind.

That’s it. Gentle heat. Rice. Pan. Shake. Until the rice turns a nice golden brown.

Remove the rice from the pan. Let it cool. Grind. I like my spice grinder for this. You could use a mortar and pestle. If you want a workout. I don’t. So I use a grinder.

It doesn’t just make things more manageable. It adds a bit of texture. A hint of flavour. I like it in bun cha . And I like it here.

It isn’t absolutely essential. You can leave it out. If you are really careful with your patties. I’m serious. You have to be really, really careful.

Don’t come crying if you leave it out. And your burgers self destruct. You’ve been warned. Toasted rice powder makes this recipe way easier.

Magic burger sauce

The company with the golden arches has their special sauce. I have mine. Mine is better. I’m just going to call it. And it’s magic. That’s way better than special.

Thousand Islands dressing is not burger sauce. It’s salad dressing. Pretty bad salad dressing. Purists will tell you it isn’t quite thousand islands dressing. I say close enough.

Mine has only two ingredients. Sambal oelek. And kewpie mayo. Might take a little hunting to find them. But they are around.

Sambal oelek is a staple in my house. Indonesian chili sauce. Amazing stuff. Sambal oelek needs to be in your fridge. It is just that good. And it lasts forever.

Kewpie mayo is Japanese mayonnaise. It is not the same as Hellmann’s. Not a subtle difference either. Another good one for your fridge.

Kewpie mayo isn’t cheap. But it is special. Magic even. I think it’s worth the splurge. Try it once to see for yourself.

It’s in major grocery stores here. Ask. You may be pleasantly surprised. Worst case pretty much any Asian grocer will have it.

Pork works too

Pork works in this recipe. Really well. And it is more believable. Thai pork burgers. That could actually exist. Somewhere.

Bankok is a big place. With a lot of street food. I bet somebody must be making it.

It works for all the reasons pork works in Thai cuisine. Or whatever part of Southeast Asia is right for this recipe.

Not so far from bun cha really. In burger form.

And I googled bun cha burger. There is a place in Hanoi. So maybe I’ll do a post on Vietnamese pork burgers.

And FWIW I think the guy in Hanoi is a genius.

Sometimes tasty is hiding in plain sight

Never thought I’d do a turkey burger post. Never thought I’d be excited by a turkey burger. I cannot remember even wanting to eat a turkey burger.

It’s low fat. Not my favourite thing. It says extra lean on the package. Really not my favourite thing.

And yet here it is. I’m still scratching my head a bit. Somehow it works. Works well even. Pretty happy to have fallen into this one.

Easy enough for a Tuesday night. Delicious. Semi-healthy. And pretty inexpensive. That’s a winner in my books. Hopefully it’s a winner in your books too.

thai turkey burgers

Equipment

• You need a BBQ for this – charcoal is better

Ingredients

Flavouring paste

• 1/4 cup green chili – seeded. Finger hot (jwala) or even jalapeno, coarsely chopped. You don’t want to use a small Thai green chili here. You won’t get enough green chili flavour (or it will be really spicy if you add more)
• 1/2 cup cilantro – leaves and stems, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup shallot – coarsely chopped.

Magic burger sauce

• 6 tbsp kewpie mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sambal oelek

Thai turkey burgers

• 2 lb ground turkey
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper – coarse. I like butcher’s grind for this.
• 3-4 tbsp toasted rice powder – see notes. You can buy this but it’s really easy to make.
• salt when it hits the grill to taste
• 6 burger buns – I like brioche (not sweet) buns for this

Instructions

Do your prep

• Coarsely chop the green chili and shallot.
• Combine the chopped green chili, shallot, garlic and cilantro sprigs in a small food processor and process until finely chopped. You can use a knife for this as well. Just make sure everything is super finely chopped.
• Prepare your garnishes. Slice some tomatoes (2 per burger unless the tomatoes are really big. Thinly slice some red onion. Wash the lettuce.
• Light your barbecue. You want it set up for high, indirect heat.

Make the magic burger sauce

• Combine the kewpie mayonnaise and sambal oelek. Mix thoroughly. The easiest special sauce of all time is ready to go.

Prep the turkey burgers

• Combine the ground turkey, fish sauce, chopped chili/shallot/cilantro/garlic mixture, black pepper and two tablespoon of toasted rice powder. Mix with your hands. Yes. Your hands. They are without a doubt the best cooking tool you own.
• This is where you need to make a judgement call. You want the turkey mixture to hold together. Try making a patty. If it is too wet add more toasted rice powder. You want it just dry enough to hold together from the plate to the grill if you use both hands to move it and are careful. I find 3 tbsp to be about the minimum for the ground turkey I get here.
• Once you are happy with the texture of your turkey mixture form it into 6 equal patties and transfer to a plate.

Grill the Thai turkey burgers

• Place the burgers over indirect heat. That means build the fire on one side and put the burgers on the other side. Use both hands to move the patties. Be careful. Salt liberally. That’s important. Don’t go overboard on the healthy thing.
• Cover the grill. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Once they are firm enough to move flip them carefully. Season the second side with salt. Cook another 5 minutes. They should be fairly firm at this point (internal temperature around 130F). Note that 130F is not the target final temperature. This is just an indication they should be firm enough to handle.
• Move the patties to the direct heat zone. Cook them for thirty seconds to one minute. You want them to colour up. You don’t want them to burn. Once they are browned to your satisfaction flip them and cook them for about as long as you did on the first side.
• Return the burgers to the indirect zone and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 160F.

Assemble the Thai turkey burgers

• Toast your buns. Smear the special sauce onto both sides of each bun. Put the burger on the bottom and top with the tomatoes then the onions and finally the lettuce. A little salt and pepper on the tomatoes is a nice touch. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition

thai turkey burgers

Equipment

• You need a BBQ for this - charcoal is better

Ingredients

Flavouring paste

• 1/4 cup green chili - seeded. Finger hot (jwala) or even jalapeno, coarsely chopped. You don’t want to use a small Thai green chili here. You won’t get enough green chili flavour (or it will be really spicy if you add more)
• 1/2 cup cilantro - leaves and stems, coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup shallot - coarsely chopped.

Magic burger sauce

• 6 tbsp kewpie mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp sambal oelek

Thai turkey burgers

• 2 lb ground turkey
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper - coarse. I like butcher’s grind for this.
• 3-4 tbsp toasted rice powder - see notes. You can buy this but it’s really easy to make.
• salt when it hits the grill to taste
• 6 burger buns - I like brioche (not sweet) buns for this

Instructions

Do your prep

• Coarsely chop the green chili and shallot.
• Combine the chopped green chili, shallot, garlic and cilantro sprigs in a small food processor and process until finely chopped. You can use a knife for this as well. Just make sure everything is super finely chopped.
• Prepare your garnishes. Slice some tomatoes (2 per burger unless the tomatoes are really big. Thinly slice some red onion. Wash the lettuce.
• Light your barbecue. You want it set up for high, indirect heat.

Make the magic burger sauce

• Combine the kewpie mayonnaise and sambal oelek. Mix thoroughly. The easiest special sauce of all time is ready to go.

Prep the turkey burgers

• Combine the ground turkey, fish sauce, chopped chili/shallot/cilantro/garlic mixture, black pepper and two tablespoon of toasted rice powder. Mix with your hands. Yes. Your hands. They are without a doubt the best cooking tool you own.
• This is where you need to make a judgement call. You want the turkey mixture to hold together. Try making a patty. If it is too wet add more toasted rice powder. You want it just dry enough to hold together from the plate to the grill if you use both hands to move it and are careful. I find 3 tbsp to be about the minimum for the ground turkey I get here.
• Once you are happy with the texture of your turkey mixture form it into 6 equal patties and transfer to a plate.

Grill the Thai turkey burgers

• Place the burgers over indirect heat. That means build the fire on one side and put the burgers on the other side. Use both hands to move the patties. Be careful. Salt liberally. That’s important. Don’t go overboard on the healthy thing.
• Cover the grill. Cook for about 7-8 minutes. Once they are firm enough to move flip them carefully. Season the second side with salt. Cook another 5 minutes. They should be fairly firm at this point (internal temperature around 130F). Note that 130F is not the target final temperature. This is just an indication they should be firm enough to handle.
• Move the patties to the direct heat zone. Cook them for thirty seconds to one minute. You want them to colour up. You don’t want them to burn. Once they are browned to your satisfaction flip them and cook them for about as long as you did on the first side.
• Return the burgers to the indirect zone and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 160F.

Assemble the Thai turkey burgers

• Toast your buns. Smear the special sauce onto both sides of each bun. Put the burger on the bottom and top with the tomatoes then the onions and finally the lettuce. A little salt and pepper on the tomatoes is a nice touch. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition

There’s something happening. Something awesome. Indian pizza. Stop right there. Think. Think butter chicken pizza. It’s as good as you imagine.

Be happy. It’s amazing. And you can make it. Desi pizza. It’s a thing.

Tandoori chicken. Butter chicken sauce. A little red onion. A few green chilies. Mozzarella. And crust.

Pizza. With sledgehammer flavour. A little bite. A little spice. And tandoori chicken. Just. Crazy. Good.

My name is Romain and I have a problem

I’m a pizza junkie. Obsessed. I make my own dough. Takes two days.

I’ve had a pizza oven for 15 years. Way before there were Oonis. Or Roccboxes. Or whatever the latest oven is.

I think the crust is more important than the toppings. Yes. For real. It’s all about the crust.

I have spent more than a decade working on my crust. I’ll spend the next decade trying to perfect it.

And I know I’ll never get there. It’s a journey. The destination does not matter.

It’s a bit crazy. I know. But it’s a happy crazy. If you are nodding your head as you read this I think we can be friends.

Indian pizza is full on amazing

I’m mostly making Indian pizza these days. My addiction has changed. It’s all about the desi pizza these days.

I’ll take a butter chicken pizza over prosciutto and arugula. Tandoori chicken pizza over mushroom and olive oil. Keema and onion over my beloved margherita.

Never thought I’d say the words. It’s blasphemy. I know. They are coming for my Neapolitan pizza card. I’ll be OK though. It was an imaginary card anyway.

Could be a phase. Don’t know. But I don’t think so. I may go back to traditional pizza. Eventually.

But I won’t stop making Indian pizza. Not ever. It is just that good.

Everything matters in butter chicken pizza

There’s not a lot to pizza. At the surface. Dig a little deeper and it gets as complex as you want it to be.

It’s simple conceptually. That’s the magic. And the danger. There’s nowhere to hide. Everything has to be perfect. The crust. The sauce. The toppings. The fire.

So I thought. Why not make it even harder? And I came up with this. Butter chicken pizza is not a simple pizza. It’s like making dinner twice.

The sauce is important. It’s always important. But it’s really important here. Sets the tone. Brings the whole thing together. Without it this is chicken pizza. Tandoori chicken brings a little bite. An edgy flavour. Balances the lush sauce and rich cheese.

And then there’s the crust. The crust defines the pizza.

Bad crust. Amazing toppings? That’s a recipe for bad pizza. Great crust. Bad toppings? That’s an OK pizza. Great crust. Great toppings. I think you can figure out what that makes. I call that pizza nirvana.

And it’s not really that much harder. You make a sauce. You make some chicken. And you fire a pizza. Easy. If you can make pizza you can make this.

There are no onions in butter chicken

That’s a tough one for people to get their heads around. There are no onions in the butter chicken you love. Trust me. I’ve done the research.

There are onions in almost everything Indian. But not butter chicken. Except maybe at takeaways. Restaurant style.

But even that’s not guaranteed. Lots of better restaurants are making their butter chicken without onions. It’s a thing. Another thing.

I’m about to suck and blow here. No onions in butter chicken. I’m bought into that. Absolutely. Except for this pizza.

I love red onion on desi pizza. And butter chicken pizza is no exception. So I add thinly sliced red onions. It’s wrong. But it’s so right.

You don’t have to do it though. Don’t let me drag you down.

Cheese matters

The butter chicken in this pizza has no butter. No cream. And no cashews.

No cashews because I’m allergic. That’s the reason I have to leave them out. You can add some raw cashews into the pot along with the tomatoes. A half cup is about right.

No butter or cream is intentional. It’s all about balance.

There’s no cheese in butter chicken. And in a ying and yang sort of way there’s no cream or butter in butter chicken pizza.

The cheese stands in. Rounds things out. Brings balance. Cream and butter would drag the flavour down. So I leave it out.

I prefer fresh mozzarella for butter chicken pizza. Fior di latte. I like the balance. The way the cheese doesn’t cover the whole pizza.

But it works with regular mozzarella too. A little different. But good. It’s really, really hard to wrong with desi pizza.

Pick the dough that’s right for you

I have a recipe for pizza dough here on Glebekitchen. Takes two days to make. It’s the best I can do. It’s made for high temperature ovens. 750F plus.

But it isn’t great in a conventional oven. I’ve tried it. 500F. Not something I would serve. Comes out pasty white. And a bit crunchy. Like a giant cracker. Don’t try it that way. It doesn’t work. I promise.

The key thing is to make the dough that works for you. The one that suits the oven you are using.

Have a pizza oven? You probably have a favourite dough. Use that. Or try a 2 day room temperature glebekitchen pizza dough . It’s a game changer.

I’m sounding like a pizza snob here. Which is understandable. I am a pizza nerd. Bit of a snob maybe.

But I’m not pizza elitist. Everyone should make great pizza. Whatever oven they have.

If you are trying to make butter chicken pizza in a conventional oven use whatever dough recipe you know will work. Just make butter chicken pizza. Please.

You can use this recipe to make butter chicken too

This pizza uses butter chicken deconstructed. Butter chicken sauce. Tandoori chicken. Guess what happens when you mix them together? Yup. Butter chicken.

This is a stripped down version of my full blown posh restaurant butter chicken . Tweaked for pizza. But it makes a pretty convincing butter chicken as well.

Make the sauce. Make the tikka. Toss the tikka into the sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook until the chicken is heated through.

Add 1/3 cup heavy cream. Remove from heat. Add 3 tbsp of butter and 2 tsp honey. Adjust salt to taste. That’s it. Easy.

If you make too much for pizza just make butter chicken. Nobody will complain. I promise.

It’s time to get into desi pizza

Love pizza? Love Indian food? They are magic together. I’m not a fan of fusion. Not usually. But this is the stuff of legends.

Desi pizza is a thing. For good reason. It may not be everywhere. Not yet anyway. But it is coming. And I can’t wait.

If you’ve had it you know. And if you haven’t? I think it’s time you fixed that…

Butter chicken pizza

Ingredients

Butter chicken sauce (makes 3 1/2 cups so freeze the extra or make butter chicken)

• 1 28 oz can tomatoes You want a brand with only tomatoes and salt. Basil really doesn’t work well here.
• 2 green chilies jwala aka finger hot, seeded (or 1/2 of one medium jalapeño)
• 2 tbsp garlic ginger paste
• 1 tbsp kashmiri chili powder – a mild chili powder available at Indian grocers (see note)
• 2 tsp kasoori methi – also available at Indian grocers. You should make the trip.
• 1 tsp kosher salt 2/3 tsp regular table salt
• 1/2 tsp tandoori masala – guess what? You can get this at an Indian grocer… There’s a link to a recipe in the notes as well.
• 3 tbsp neutral oil vegetable, canola etc

Quick chicken tikka

• 1 lb chicken thighs boneless, skinless left whole
• 2 tbsp tandoori masala – try to get one that isn’t mostly salt
• 1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
• 2 tsp kasoori methi
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt – but only if your tandoori masala isn’t already well salted
• a bit of naga pickle if you like spicy (optional)
• enough neutral oil (e.g. canola) to make a slurry 2-3 tbsp

Butter chicken pizza

• 2 pizzas worth of dough – if you have a pizza oven try the glebekitchen recipe. It took me 10 years to get it to where I’m happy. For a regular oven use what works for you.
• 8 oz fior di latte fresh mozzarella. Torn into 3/4-1 inch pieces
• butter chicken sauce
• chicken tikka
• thinly sliced red onion
• thinly sliced green chilies – I actually like jalapeños over jwala green chilies for this. Your call.
• finely chopped cilantro

Instructions

The butter chicken sauce

• Hand crush the tomatoes, removing the stems as you go. If you own a food mill use that instead. A food mill is a great thing to own if you’re into pizzas.
• Cut the chilies in half and remove the seeds and membrane (pith). Discard the stems.
• Heat the oil in a pan large enough to hold all the ingredients over medium low heat.
• Add the garlic ginger paste. Fry until it stops sputtering.
• Turn the heat to low. Add the kashmiri chili powder, kasoori methi, tandoori masala and salt. Stir to get everything combined and gently fry the spices for about 45-60 seconds. This is called blooming spices and it’s a fundamental technique in Indian cooking. This is why you added 3 full tablespoons of oil. Less and it gets really hard to do.
• Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices. Stir to combine.
• Toss in the green chilies and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes.
• Let cool. Puree in a blender. You want a nice smooth sauce.

Make the chicken tikka

• Combine all the ingredients except the chicken. Stir to combine. You should have a slurry texture.
• Add the chicken and coat evenly with marinade. Use tongs. Commercial tandoori masalas have food colouring in them. Food colouring and fingers make a terrible combination.
• Refrigerate for 1-4 hours. You don’t need to wait if you are jammed for time. Just go straight ahead. Marination is a surface phenomenon with the exception of salt. You do not need to marinate chicken tikka for 48 hours. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There’s no food science to support it…
• Preheat your oven to 400F convect or ready your grill. Cook until you get an internal temperature of 165F. The chicken will cook a little more on the pizza.
• Let cool and cut into pieces (about 1/4 inch thick). Set aside.

Assemble the pizzas

• I like to drizzle some of the butter chicken sauce over the pizza as it comes out of the oven. A squirt bottle is good for this. It’s a flashy touch. A bit of fun. Up to you. If you want to do it have it ready before the start.
• Open your pizza dough. If you can possibly avoid it don’t use a rolling pin. Use your hands. And always protect the cornice (the edge or rim of the pizza). You want the edges to rise above the rest of the pizza. I do anyway.
• Spoon the butter chicken sauce onto the middle of the pizza and spread it out. I use two spoons for this. One to spoon and one to spread. That way I don’t cross contaminate my sauce if I’m keeping leftovers.
• Scatter the chicken tikka overtop. Follow that up with the fior di latte. Strew some red onions and green chilies overtop
• Cook the pizza as you usually do. At 750-800F that should take about 90 seconds.
• To serve drizzle with butter chicken sauce and top with a little finely chopped cilantro.

Notes