Turkey Burgers with Roquefort
First things first: Please don't read the words "TURKEY BURGER" and head for the hills - I promise I'm not trying to convert you to away from your standard beef patties. This is not a health blog. Believe you me, I love me some juicy, drippy, fully loaded, medium rare beef burgers. But maybe, just maybe, since it's grill season and all, you'll consider putting these suckers into your regular burger rotation.
Hear me out: at Cheesemonster, we're all about the cheese. Duh. And for me, these particular turkey burgers provide a perfect canvas for the rich, piquant, decisive note of the Roquefort. If you haven't had Roquefort before, let me introduce you to this is a powerhouse of a cheese: it is a spicy, slightly fruity blue cheese from southern France. With a distinct gamey kick of sheep's milk and a dense, fudgy texture that still manages to have a satisfying crumble, this is the type of eye-opening cheese that'll wake you up in the morning just as well, if not better, than any cup of coffee.
When cooking with such a special and specific cheese, I prefer to work with flavors that compliment and enhance it, rather than compete with or overwhelm it. So while regular beef burgers may be delicious, I find that they have a tendency to mask the beautiful Roquefort flavor, not to mention achieve unpleasantly acute levels of greasiness. These turkey burgers provide a more harmonious flavor punch, highlighting this exceptional cheese, with a bit less of gut-busting fattiness. Which means I can eat two and not completely want to die. Mission accomplished.
BONUS: The patties themselves are enhanced with a punch of Parmigiano Reggiano too! Now if that's not a cheese-centric burger, I don't know what is.
Ingredients
1lb ground turkey
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 scallions, including green tops, chopped (Or you can use an equivalent amount of chopped chives instead)
2 TB milk
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
4 sesame seed buns
4oz Roquefort
method
-Mix together turkey, parmigiano, breadcrumbs, scallions, milk, egg, salt, and pepper, making sure that all of the elements are evenly distributed.
-With wet hands, divide the mixture into 4 and form patties, each about 1 inch thick.
-Place patties either onto a medium-hot grill or into a stove-top pan that has been well oiled.
-Cook on one side until about halfway cooked through, then flip. When you've flipped your burgers, sprinkle each patty with about 1oz of Roquefort.
-Meanwhile, toast sesame buns (non-toasted buns are for heathens).
-When burgers reach desired doneness, transfer to buns. I usually serve these with the usual accompaniment suspects: ketchup, mustard, and a leafy green of some sort.