Bunless Roasted Jalapeño & Cheddar Turkey Burgers with BBQ Aioli

Happy Friday friends!!  I know I’ve been horribly sporadic with my posts this summer and such, but a lot has been going on and quite frankly it’s just been hard getting to post.  I guess you could say a little un-motivated.  But I’m hoping this will all change in the next coming weeks.

For those of you who know me well, know that I’m a huge football fan!  And as of last night, the first college football games began!  Whoohoo!!!  Tomorrow my two teams play and I am pumped, Go DAWGS & RTR!!!  I’ll be flipping the channel back and forth (or more likely making my husband do it).

Since it’s tailgating time, I thought I’d share with you a fabulous turkey burger recipe.  I made this recipe this week, and it was hubs approved.  I probably would’ve added a couple more jalapeños.  This turkey burger recipe was pretty quick and easy.  It reminded me of making meatballs, since the recipe included cheese and panko bread crumbs.

I used three jalapenos from my garden in this recipe instead of two.  If you are afraid of using jalapeños because of the heat, don’t worry the heat pretty much cooks out of the jalapenos when you roast them.  And like I mentioned above, I’d add a couple more to the recipe.  We ate these bunless because I don’t really keep any bread in the house, other than Ezekial bread.  So to add a little oomph to mine I added lettuce, tomato, and avocados!  We love avocados!!

The BBQ aioli was absolutely delicious.  Maybe not the healthiest, but so so good!  You could probably do half Greek yogurt and half mayonnaise instead of all mayonnaise.  The BBQ gives it a great tang and the sauce isn’t too mayonnaise-y if you know what I mean.  You see I’m not a huge mayonnaise fan, but this was great!

If you are interested in making these at your tailgate, I’d suggest prepping and making patties the night before.

• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 1 pound lean ground turkey (I use 94% lean)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 ounces cheddar cheese, freshly grated
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces cheddar cheese, sliced
• 1 ripe tomato, sliced
• 4 lettuce leaves
• 4 whole wheat buns

 BBQ Aioli:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

 Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler in your oven. Place peppers on a baking sheet and set them directly under the broiler, turning them every minute or so until the skin is completely black and charred. Remove the peppers and immediately place them in a large ziplock bag. Let sit for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, take the peppers out and rub the skins off. Slice off the tops and bottoms, then cut the peppers down the middle. remove the seeds, and chop the peppers. WASH YOUR HANDS!!
2. Add the turkey, peppers, garlic, green onions, cheddar, egg, panko, salt, pepper and paprika to a large bowl. Gently mixed until just combined and form into 4 equal sized patties. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Add the patties and cook until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Reduce the heat to low, top each burger with the cheddar and cover. Let sit for 1 minute until the cheese melted.
3. Assemble the burgers with the buns, the aioli, tomato slices and lettuce. Serve!

1. Combine mayo, BBQ sauce, garlic, paprika and cumin in a food processor and blend until mixed. With the processor on, steam in the olive oil until the mixture comes together. You can store this in the fridge for about a week.