It's Friday and raining in Charlotte with a forecasted, unseasonable high of 61 degrees. Cooler temps are returning later in the weekend with another chance of snow here on Sunday/Monday. We're just going from one extreme to another here in North Carolina.

Since we usually do a grocery store run on Friday, I'm already thinking ahead on some easy dinners for the weekend our kids will also like. In the new year, I cut back on my animal protein intake, but do still enjoy a little meat a couple of times a week. Like most kids, our boys love burgers. We often use ground beef or bison, but for a while now, my favorite burger is this turkey burger. And, I believe I've found the best turkey burger recipe, like ever! Turkey burgers can sometimes be dry and flavorless, but not these.

Over the years, we've tried a number of food delivery services in hopes of taking the guesswork out and shaving some time off of our hectic, weekday dinner routine. We've honestly never found a service we've loved and stuck with for any length of time. So if you have, please do share the company in the comments below. I think Blue Apron may have been our maiden food delivery voyage over six or seven years ago. We may have stuck with the program for a month, although my memory is a bit foggy on those details.

When we cancelled our Blue Apron subscription, we ended up with a couple of recipes we still make at our house on the regular. This turkey burger recipe is one of those. There's something about the lemongrass and ginger paired with the garlic aioli and marinated radishes that always has me craving this burger. Over time, we've adapted the original recipe a bit here and there to accommodate our taste buds, especially our love for extra garlic aioli.

For my burger, I usually use Canyon Bakehouse gluten free bread, and honestly, I don't miss the hamburger bun. We usually serve our turkey burgers with an easy vegetable (The grilled okra was from late summer when I took the photos.) and sweet potato fries. And, I highly recommend adding some extra garlic aioli to your burger. We make ours with avocado mayonnaise. Give these a try and let me know if you also think they are the best turkey burgers.

Happy Weekend friends! Hoping your February is off to a nice start and the weather isn't too bad where you are.

✖︎ ✖︎

Lemongrass + Ginger Turkey Burgers (Adapted from Blue Apron)

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 25-35 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
4 hamburger buns or bread of your choice
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger
1 stalk lemongrass
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup mayonnaise (we love avocado mayo)
4 radishes
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR GARLIC AIOLI

Peel and finely chop garlic.
In a small bowl, mix garlic with mayonnaise.
Cover and refrigerate

FOR MARINATED RADISHES

Cut off and discard ends of radishes. Thinly slice radishes with a mandolin.
Place radishes in a small bowl. Add mirin, vinegar and half of sesame oil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cover and refrigerate, stirring a couple of times while preparing burgers.

FOR TURKEY BURGERS

Cut off and discard ends of lemongrass. Peel back and discard fibrous, outer layers until you reach white core. Mince lemongrass core.
Peel and finely chop ginger.
In large pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high until hot.
Add ginger and lemongrass, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until softened and fragrant, stirring frequently. Transfer to medium bowl.
Wipe out pan.
To bowl with cooked garlic and ginger, add ground turkey, bread crumbs and remaining sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper. Gently mix to combine. Using hands, form mixture into 4 equal patties. Transfer to plate.
In same pan, heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium-high heat until hot. Add turkey patties and cook 5-7 minutes per side, or until browned and completely cooked through.
Toast buns or bread in pan, oven or toaster.
To assemble burgers, spread layer of garlic aioli on 1 or both sides of bread. Add cooked patty and marinated radishes. Top each burger with cilantro.
Enjoy!