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."
Equipment
- grill (though burgers can be sauteed
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
Instructions
For the Burger
- 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.
- Once cooled, add the ground beef and sausage to a food processor (or use a hand blender) and blend the two together until combined.
- Form 4 burgers and set aside (refrigerate if pre-prepping early.)
- 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
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk until sauce is formed.
For the Relish
- Add ingredients to a food processor and pulse until desired consistency (can hand chop as well).
For the Garnish
- 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
- 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;)