FETA-STUFFED JUICY LUCY TURKEY BURGERS

Feta-Stuffed Juicy Lucy Turkey Burgers image

Ground turkey burgers get a bad rap for being a little bit boring. But when dressed up with flavors of the Mediterranean like olives, capers, garlic and dill, and then stuffed with salty and tangy feta cheese, they become anything but. To maximize the flavor we made a quick tzatziki sauce and slathered it over toasted sesame buns, then topped the burgers with fresh tomato slices and crunchy spinach.

Provided by Food Network Kitchen

Categories main-dish

Time 40m

Yield 4 burgers

Number Of Ingredients 21

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Ingredients

1/3 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1 baby cucumber, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, grated
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, for the grill grates
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tablespoons capers, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces fresh feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)
4 sesame seed hamburger buns
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large Roma tomato, sliced into 8 rounds
Sliced red onion, for serving
Iceberg leaves, for serving

Steps:

For the tzatziki sauce: Mix the yogurt, dill, cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the turkey burgers: Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill grates with vegetable oil.
Mix the ground turkey, olives, dill, capers, oregano, garlic, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt and a generous amount of pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Divide the mixture into 4 equal balls (about 6 ounces each). Working with one ball at a time, divide it in half and flatten to make 2 patties, each about 4 1/2 inches in diameter. Spoon 1 tablespoon of feta into the middle of one of the patties, leaving about a 1-inch border. Top with the other patty and press the meat together very tightly, forming a large patty shape with the cheese secured inside. (If needed, refrigerate the patties if you notice they are becoming a little malleable and too soft to work with while you build the remaining burgers). Repeat with the remaining balls and cheese. (At this point, you can freeze the burgers, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and placed inside a freezer bag, for up to 3 months.) Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking.)
Grill the burgers, flipping once, until golden grill marks have formed, the meat is no longer pink on the top and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F, 5 to 6 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, split the buns open and brush both sides with the olive oil. With about 2 minutes of burger cooking time left, toast the buns on the grill until golden and a few grill marks have formed, about 2 minutes.
Spread about 2 tablespoons of the tzatziki sauce onto both halves of each bun. Layer each bottom bun half with a burger patty, 2 tomato slices, some red onion slices and iceberg leaves and the top bun half.