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Mimi

The Turk Burger

A Turkish-American gourmet burger made with ground beef and Turkish Sucuk sausage, with Kashar cheese, an Onion-Parsley garnish, pepperoncini relish, garlic-tahini aioli, and tomato slice, on Turkish Ekmek hamburger "buns."
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings: 4 burgers
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Turkish
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Burger
  • 1/2 lb Ground beef (80/20 blend or higher)
  • 1.5 - 2 links Turkish Sucuk sausages, casings removed
  • Salt to season
  • 4 slices Tomatoes (one slice for each burger)
  • 4 slices Turkish Kashar cheese (very similar to mozzarella, which you can substitute if you cannot find Kashar), sliced (one to each burger)
  • Garlic Tahini Aioli (see below)
  • Pepperoncini Relish (see below)
  • Onion Parsley Garnish (see below)
  • 4 Hamburger buns (I made Turkish style Ekmek from Ozlem’s Turkish Table and formed into buns)
For the Aioli
  • 1/2 cup Mayo
  • 1/4 cup Tahini
  • 2-3 large Garlic cloves, minced
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
For the Garnish
  • 1 Medium onion, diced
  • 1/2 bunch Parsley, chopped
  • Drizzle Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Sumac
For the Relish
  • 10 Pepperoncini, finely chopped
  • 2 medium Dill pickle, finely chopped

Equipment

  • grill (though burgers can be sauteed

Method
 

For the Burger
  1. After removing the casings from the sucuk sausage, crumble and saute in a saucepan over medium heat for 3-5 minutes in order to bring out the flavors before adding to the ground meat. 
  2. Once cooled, add the ground beef and sausage to a food processor (or use a hand blender) and blend the two together until combined.
  3. Form 4 burgers and set aside (refrigerate if pre-prepping early.)
  4. Grill the burgers (can also saute or cook on a griddle) until desired doneness (approximately 5 minutes each side for medium). Add the slice once turned over and cover if having trouble melting. 
For the Aioli
  1. Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until sauce is formed.
For the Relish
  1. Add ingredients to a food processor and pulse until desired consistency (can hand chop as well).
For the Garnish
  1. Add the onion and parsley to a food processor and pulse until diced (not too fine, because we want it to sit under the burger.) Add the sumac into the mix. 
To Build the Burger
  1. On the toasted bun, spread the aioli, add a layer of the onion-parsley garnish, sit the burger with cheese down, add some of the relish, followed by a slice of tomato and the top bun with a little more aioli. Enjoy!

Notes

  •  Saute the crumbled pieces of sucuk beforehand, since it will bring out the flavor of the sausage in the most fantastic manner!
 
  • It’s always a good idea to let the burgers sit, once packed, since putting cold burgers on a grill is never a good idea. 
 
  • Find what combination of garnish/relish/elements works for you and experiment...we did;)