Mar-A-Lago Turkey Burgers for Real People

When I saw that this recipe calls for 4 pounds of ground turkey meat, only yields 8 burgers, and only serves 6, I knew something was awry. That's a lot of damn burger. No wonder we're all getting fat! I don't care if it is a turkey burger, it's still a half a pound of meat, and it's all about portions, people. Oprah will be the first one to tell us that. When she raved about this turkey burger, I had it in the back of my head for quite some time to make them, and I'm so glad I finally did.

First, I've retooled the recipe to actually work for real people servings. My recipe yields 5 burgers, which should do just fine for a regular dinner for 3-5 people. Double my recipe, and you'll have moist, delicious turkey burgers for 10 at your next summer grillout. The recipe at oprah's site calls for too much meat, plain and simple.

The second important tweak I made was to puree the sauteed ingredients to make the burger more palatable to kids. The last thing that Daughter needs to see are fruits and vegetable chunks tucked into her burger. She has a palate that even the executive chef at Mar-a-Lago would have a hard time pleasing.

Oprah did get it right when she said this may be the best turkey burger she's ever had. It's a damn fine burger, and very easy to make.

Mar-A-Lago Turkey Burgers For Real People

1/8 cup finely sliced green onions

1/3 cup finely chopped celery

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons olive oil or grapeseed oil for sauteeing

1 pack of ground turkey breast (which is usually 1.25 lbs)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fresh black pepper

1 teaspoon of tabasco sauce

Juice of half a lemon

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

1/4 cup Major Grey's Chutney, remove the raisins or puree the chutney if you like

Saute the green onions, celery, and apples in the grapeseed oil until soft, about 8 minutes. Let cool. Pour sauteed ingredients into the mini-food processor and puree so that the major chunks are gone.

Put the ground turkey into a large mixing bowl. Add the pureed items, salt, pepper, tabasco, lemon juice and zest, and Major Grey's chutney. Mix and form into evenly shaped burgers with an indentation in the middle to prevent the burgers from getting puffy when grilled. Refrigerate for up to two hours.

Before grilling, season turkey burgers with additional salt and pepper as desired. Grill each side for 5-6 minutes or until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve on GF buns, add cheese, whatever your pleasure.

Thanks to Jeff O'Neill for this original recipe, so delicious and ready to be tweaked for a smaller family.