Thanksgiving Turkey Burger with Cranberry Aioli

 

Hi, friends! I've been waiting to share this recipe with you since the summer. John enjoyed the "Thankful" burger at Grange Hall Burger Bar in July and we recreated it a weekend or so later. While the burger was tasty enough to share then, the flavors are a little more appropriate for this week of Thanksgiving.

 

 

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'm extremely thankful for my family this year. Yes, being a parent is hard work, but Monica's smiles, giggles, and overall happiness makes it worth it. I'm also thankful for John and his cooking skills. I often joke that he feeds me (and himself) and I feed Monica, so things are even in the kitchen.

 

 

Back to the kitchen...if you'd rather use this burger as a way to give leftovers a new life, have at it! You could easily use a few slices of roasted turkey in place of ground turkey. If you go that route, I would suggest adding some fresh sage leaves to your sandwich.

 

As for the cranberry aioli, it was super easy to make using the food processor. And I felt very Julia Child in the process.

 

If you're not feeling that brave (yes, there is a raw egg yolk in there), you can take some leftover cranberry sauce and mix it with mayonnaise and a little minced garlic.

 

Top your burger (or leftover turkey sandwich) with some muenster cheese, arugula, a healthy slathering of cranberry aoili, and serve it on a pretzel bun. If you are going the leftover turkey sandwich route, I highly recommend melting the cheese under the broiler. 

Thanksgiving Turkey Burger with Cranberry Aioli
Inspired by Grange Hall Burger Bar
Yields 6 burgers

Ingredients

For the burgers:
2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 medium sweet onion, minced
~12 sage leaves, rough chopped
Salt and pepper

For the cranberry aioli:
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh cranberries*, roughly chopped
1 T sugar

6 slices muenster cheese
Arugula
6 pretzel buns

Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the ground turkey, onion, sage, salt, and pepper. Divide the ground turkey mixture into six patties.

Pulse the garlic, salt, and egg yolk in the food processor or blender.

Slowly pour the olive oil into the food processor or blender on "stir." As the aioli thickens, keep pouring in the olive oil until it's all incorporated. Taste and add more garlic or salt, as necessary.

Add the cranberries and sugar to the aioli and pulse a few times in the food processor or blender. Taste again.

Grill your burgers to desired doneness, adding the cheese at the very end to melt.

Serve on pretzel buns with arugula and cranberry aioli.

*I used fresh cranberries that were previously frozen. Roughly chop, add sugar, and microwave in a bowl for about 15 seconds to thaw.
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