Greek Turkey Sliders are juicy, fun-sized lean ground turkey burgers that are well seasoned with Greek-inspired herbs and spices, seared over a grill to seal in the juices, and topped with a fantastic feta cheese sauce.
Do you ever have nagging thoughts in the middle of the night that keep you awake? To the point where the swirling randomness in your head leaves you no choice but concede defeat and ride out the mental twister because sleep will only come once the maelstrom of ideas has petered out? Yeah. That’s awesome. I had that happen with turkey the other night. Not the wild variety that I often have to stop to let cross the country roads on my drive home. Nope. A turkey burger was keeping me awake.
Can we talk turkey for a minute? I’m a fan of a tasty yard bird as much as the next person. I’ll eat turkey prepared nearly any way. Roasting a big ol’ Thanksgiving turkey? Sign me up and pass the gravy! And you best be making turkey hash with chorizo with the leftovers because it’s just the right thing to do. Goodness knows, I’d certainly never pass up a scoop of turkey pot pie. What I feel for turkey is akin to how Bubba Gump feels about shrimp. Just. Yes.
Unless of course we’re talking about turkey burgers. Then I’m more along the lines of Nancy Reagan and her “Just say no.” campaign. I’d just as soon double up on the salad and sweet potato oven fries then suffer through a tasteless, puck-like poultry party. No thank you.
But then one night when I should have been sleeping, tasteless turkey burgers started dancing in my head. I felt as if I were counting sheep, only instead of fluffy ewes jumping over a nice white picket fence, it was turkey burgers with winged buns fluttering over the barrier. Winged burger buns, that is. Get your mind back up here with the rest of us!
FYI: This is what happens when I cave to the call of Dr. Pepper at 3:00 in the afternoon–I have bizarre dreams that don’t make a whole lot of sense, but I’ll try to explain.
I got to thinking that lean ground turkey as it stands is pretty versatile in that it doesn’t have much of a flavor, but easily absorbs a variety of flavors. Bacon Slayer steadfastly asserts that ground turkey needs to be seasoned twice as much as ground beef in order to taste like anything. Perhaps the ho-hum flavor of the average turkey burger could be attributed to sparse seasonings instead of the meat itself?
Right about then was when I gave up on actually sleeping. Sometimes the only way to get to sleep when my mind won’t shut down is to write down whatever it is that’s keeping me awake. So, I started writing down seasoning combinations in the handy-dandy notebook that I keep next to my bed. My mind then drifted to the bush-like oregano and mint that are growing rampant in the garden. Thus, Greek inspired seasonings seemed the way to go.
As long as I was up writing down ideas to make a better turkey burger, it only made sense to tackle the pesky fact that turkey burgers are so lean that they tend to dry out on the grill like a drop of water hitting a hot skillet. Lean ground turkey lacks necessary moisture due to the lack of fat. What little fat there is melts on the grill, leaving even less fat to seal in the meat juices.
That issue could have two possible causes: the temperature of the grill, and the length of cooking time. The hotter the grill, the faster the fat and moisture burns off. The longer the turkey cooks, the more moisture cooks off. My solution? Greek Turkey Sliders. I made smaller burgers and cooked them over a lower heat than I would normally cook a burger. Just to ensure that the turkey burger wasn’t too bland or dry, I topped it with a zesty, feta garlic sauce. Because cheese.
Greek Turkey Sliders are juicy, fun-sized lean ground turkey burgers that are well seasoned with Greek-inspired herbs and spices, seared on grill to seal in the juices, and topped with a fantastic feta cheese sauce.
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 12 Sliders or 6 Servings
Serves 2 Sliders
Greek Turkey Sliders are juicy, fun-sized lean ground turkey burgers that are well seasoned with Greek-inspired herbs and spices, seared over a hot grill to seal in the juices, and topped with a fantastic feta cheese sauce.
30 minPrep Time
5 minCook Time
35 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- For the Turkey Burgers:
- 1 ½ lbs. lean ground turkey
- ¼ C. freshly grated yellow onion
- 2 tsp. minced fresh oregano
- ½ tsp. minced fresh mint
- 1 clove (½ tsp.) garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 2 Tbs. plain breadcrumbs
- ½ Tbs. light olive oil, for brushing over the grill grates
- For the Feta Sauce:
- ½ C. crumbled cow’s milk feta cheese, divided
- ½ C. plain Greek style yogurt
- 1 clove (½ tsp.) garlic, peeled and minced
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. fresh lemon zest (or more, to taste)
- For Serving:
- 12 whole wheat slider buns, split and toasted
- ½ C. prepared roasted red peppers, drained, patted dry and sliced
- ½ C. baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Knead the ground turkey with the grated onion, oregano, mint, garlic, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs until well blended. Divide the meat mixture into 12 equal portions. Smack each portion back and forth between two clean hands to form a large, cohesive meat ball. Press the meatball between hands to form little burger patties. Refrigerate the turkey patties while preparing the sauce and toppings.
- Prepare the sauce by pulsing ¼ cup of the crumbled feta cheese with the Greek yogurt, garlic, salt, and lemon zest in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir the remaining ¼ cup of feta into the sauce. Transfer the sauce to a small serving bowl. Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Sauce may be made several hours to 1 day ahead of time.) Arrange the spinach and sliced roasted red peppers on a serving plate—chill until ready to serve.
- Heat the grill to medium heat—about 325 to 350 degrees F. Once the grill is hot, quickly brush the grill grates with the olive oil using a fire safe basting brush. Grill the turkey sliders on the oiled grates for a total of 4 to 6 minutes, flipping over halfway to cook both sides evenly.
- Immediately serve Greek Turkey Sliders on toasted buns topped with spinach, roasted red pepper slices, and a tablespoon of Feta Garlic Sauce (to taste.)
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