Empire State Thursday Burgers (a.k.a. Turkey Burgers with Savory Mayo, Caramelized Onions, and Cranberry Jelly)
Ingredients:
Patties
2 pounds ground turkey
1/3 cup celery, finely diced
1/3 cup Empire Sweet onion, finely diced (substitute Vidalia if not available)
2/3 cup Braeburn apple, finely diced (substitute Granny Smith if not available)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Carmelized Onions
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
1 large Empire Sweet onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rings (substitute Vidalia if not available)
Savory Mayonnaise
1 cup Hellman’s mayonaise
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp ground thyme
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, for brushing on the grill rack
1 can cranberry jelly
6 good-quality Kaiser rolls, split (not too thick though so you can get your moth around it!)
Instructions:
Preheat a gas grill to medium-high.
To make the patties, combine the turkey, celery, onion, apple, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Don’t over mix. Shape into 6 patties to fit the bun size. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
To prepare the caramelized onions, put one tablespoon olive oil and one tablespoon butter in a heavy nonstick fire-proof skillet on bottom rack. Add the sliced Empire Sweet onion rings. Once ingredients are lightly sizzling, move to top rack. Stir occasionally, until golden brown. Transfer the onions to a sheet of foil and wrap to keep warm.
To make the savory mayo, mix together mayonnaise, celery salt, and ground thyme in a small bowl. Cover.
When the grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the bottom rack, cover, and cook, turning once, 11 to 12 minutes on each side until 165 degrees. Place the buns, cut side down, on the outer edges of the rack to toast lightly during the last 2 minutes of grilling.
To assemble the burgers, spread 1 tbs cranberry jelly on top bun and 1 tbs on bottom bun. Follow with 1 tbs savory mayo on top bun and one tsp on bottom bun. Place turkey burger on bottom bun followed by an equal portion of the caramelized onion topping. Add the bun tops and serve.
Makes 6 burgers