Southwest Turkey Sliders

In my mind, turkey burgers were always inferior to beef.  Terrible of me to judge them like that when I had never even tried one!  Well, I decided to give them a shot… and golly gee whiz these Southwest Turkey Sliders are super tasty!  Like, I think I like these better than regular beef burgers!   They might just even beat my yummy Gourmet Burger.  And my hamburger loving husband loved them too!

I think most people think turkey burgers are for those who don’t eat red meat or are trying to cut back on fat and calories but these are so good that they are seriously for everyone.  The lower calories and fat are just an added bonus!I just love the colors of these fresh chopped herbs and veggies… and they taste amazing in the patties.

You might be weary of the sweet red pepper relish but it kinda makes the dish.  You can find it in the store by the pickles and relish or you can use red pepper jelly by the jelly & peanut butter.  (The kind I used is Dickinson’s Sweet’n’Hot Pepper & Onion Relish)

Some of you out there may not eat pork or maybe you just don’t like bacon (what!?) so you can leave it off or substitute turkey bacon.  And you can definitely make these into normal size burgers instead of sliders.  I just thought they were cute. 🙂

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Southwest Turkey Sliders

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 8

Author Garnish & Glaze

Ingredients

• 8 sliced hickory smoked bacon or turkey bacon
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/3 cup yellow bell pepper finely chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons red onion finely chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper seeded, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
• 1 tablespoons fresh thyme chopped (or 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons steak seasoning
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce
• 4 ounces pepper jack cheese sliced
• 8 slider buns
• 1/2 cup sweet red pepper relish found in the condiment aisle
• Green leaf lettuce
• Red onion slices

Instructions

• Fry bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
• Drain off bacon grease into a mug.
• While bacon is frying, in a large mixing bowl, combine ground turkey, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, thyme, cumin, steak seasoning, and hot sauce. Form into 8 equal patties.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved bacon grease back to the pan (you'll have to use oil if you made turkey bacon) and cook patties 4-5 minutes on each side over medium-high heat. Place cheese on patties for the last 2 minutes. (You can also cook the patties on a barbecue grill.)
• Assemble sliders by placing patties on the bottom bun followed by onion slices, bacon, lettuce, and red pepper relish. Add the top bun and serve.

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Rachel Ray 

Nutrition Facts calculated based on using 93% lean turkey and regular pork bacon. They are also based on using a 100 calorie bun. You can reduce calories and fat by using leaner turkey and turkey bacon.