Crave Wednesday: Southwest Turkey Burgers

The theme of this year's holidays was family.  And we continued that trend with a family vacation over New Year's Eve.  We headed out to Palm Desert with Toxicesq, Thatmom, her boyfriend, and TMIL.

The place was still decorated for Christmas, or at least our building was.

Toxicesq brought up a bunch of China's old books, which Thatkid was quick to share with her.

We hit up all our usual haunts, the outlets, the zoo, and the airplane museum.

And Thatbaby had his first taste of barbecue.

We are sorely lacking in good barbecue in my area.  Which means I have to make it myself.  But I'm not terribly adventurous with the grill.  Last Friday marked the 7 year anniversary of Thatdad's death.  He was the big barbecue guy in our family.  His ribs and chicken were unparalleled.   And it's one of those things where I never thought to learn from him, because I didn't expect him to not be there.

So instead, I mostly grill burgers and chicken.  Not even barbecue, just grill.  I don't have a great sauce of my own.

But I can grill a mean burger!  With the right ingredients inside, the lack of a sauce doesn't matter.  This turkey burger gets most of its flavors from the chiles.  Poblanos are nice, because they're not all spice, the have a great smokiness to them. 

Southwest Turkey Burgers (From Cooking Light)

2 poblano chiles

1 oz French bread baguette, sliced

1/4 cup 1% low fat milk

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder, divided

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 lb ground turkey breast

cooking spray

2 Tbsp canola mayonnaise

4 hamburger buns, toasted

4 green leaf lettuce leaves

4 slices tomato

1. Preheat grill to medium high heat.  Cut poblanos in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes.  
2. Place poblanos, skin side down, on grill rack; grill 10 minutes or until blackened.  
3. Place poblanos in a paper bag; fold to close tightly.  Let stand 15 minutes.  Peel and dice.
4. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 5 times or until coarse crumbs measure 1/2 cup.  
5. Combine breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
6. Add cumin, 1/4 tsp chili powder and next 4 ingredients.  Mix gently until just combined.
7. Divide turkey mixture into 4 equal portions; shape each portion into a 1/2 inch thick patty.  Press thumb in enter of each patty, leaving a nickel-sized indentation.
8. Place patties on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until done.
9. Combine 1/4 tsp chili powder and mayonnaise. 
10. Top bottom half of each bun with 1 lettuce leaf, 1 tomato slice, 1 patty, about 1 1/2 tsp mayonnaise mixture, and bun top.