How to Make Greek Style Turkey Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce

This week my oldest daughter Nell and I were on our own. Before heading to Wyoming for a wedding, my wife and youngest daughter were heading to Salt Lake City. Nell and I dined out a couple of times, but she said she wanted to make some Greek-style turkey burgers with fresh corn and Caprese salad.

Oh yeah, she wanted tzatziki sauce to serve with turkey burgers. She must have been looking through a cooking magazine for this menu.

Tzatziki sauce is a Greek-style yogurt sauce made with cucumber, garlic, mint leaves, and a few other ingredients, depending on who makes it.

Ingredients

It sounded like a great summer meal, so I went to Whole Foods to pick up some ingredients. Thinking about what would be good in a turkey burger, I picked up some ground turkey and feta cheese. Although I've previously prepared tzatziki sauce for lamb burgers, I picked up a commercial product to save a few steps.

I already had garlic and shallot at home, plus a flower bed full of mint; I was ready to make my own Greek-style turkey burgers. I'm sure you can add many other ingredients to your turkey burgers to make them more Greek style and I would love to hear your ideas in the comment section below.

Ground Turkey

While at Whole Foods, I noticed they sold light and dark meat ground turkey. I opted for the light-meat ground turkey, thinking my daughter would prefer it, but I'll give the dark meat a go next time.

Why?

Because I like dark meat turkey more and think it is more moist and flavorful than white meat turkey. On Thanksgiving, there is always a rush for the leg and thigh meat I de-bone and stuff. No matter how perfectly you roast a turkey, the white meat always seems a little drier than the dark thigh meat.

Now imagine grilling ground white turkey over a very hot grill. You must be extremely careful not to overcook it, or you'll end up with a hockey puck. Hint - don't walk away from the grill!

Corn on the Cob

Fresh Corn is starting to get really good here in the Philadelphia region. I don't think it's coming in from New Jersey yet; the best corn ever, but it is still very good.

Here are some of my posts on buying and cooking corn on the cob:

Caprese Salad

When tomatoes are in season, especially Beef Steak tomatoes from New Jersey or our garden, we eat Caprese salad made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, basil, extra virgin olive oil, good balsamic vinegar, and a little salt & pepper.

We may have some version of it 3 or 4 times per week during this time. Here are a few of my favorite ways to prepare it.

Hamburger Buns

Although serving these turkey burgers on hamburger buns would be perfect, I've been trying to keep my bread consumption down so I opted not to buy them for this meal. My 19-year-old daughter was perfectly fine with that decision.

RG's Cooking Tips

You can make the turkey burgers beforehand and let them sit in the refrigerator if you like. I made them right before grilling, so I started my gas grill about 10 minutes before grilling so the grates would heat up.
The best tip I can give you is not to overwork the turkey. Instead, gently combine all the ingredients using your hands, careful not to over-mix.
These are not beef burgers, so I suggest you don't eat them bloody rare like some people like their beef, but also be careful not to let them overcook until they are inedible. The exact times will depend on your grill's temperature and the turkey burger's thickness.

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