The Healthy Kitchen: Cilantro Lime Turkey Burgers with Chimichurri Sauce

 

On my current health journey, I am trying to find recipes that are high in iron and limit dairy. For anyone who is unaware, I have recently been diagnosed with serious anemia and had to have a blood transfusion to get my hemoglobin up to a safe level. I am now on a journey to find out the cause. In the meantime, even though my hemoglobin is at a safer level it is still low, so I am having to take iron and be more conscious of what I am eating. 

Tonight, I planned on making turkey burgers but since I am limiting dairy, I had to find some flavor alternatives other than cheese. After some research, I decided to make a turkey burger with a variation of a couple recipes. First though I needed to find a sauce to go with it. I had cilantro on hand, so I decided to make a chimichurri sauce without parsley. 

Recipe for Chimichurri sauce:

1 bunch of cilantro chopped

1 TBSP of chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic minced

1.5 TBSP of red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp of paprika

1/4 tsp of salt

3 TBSP olive oil

Add all ingredients into a food processor and process until everything is incorporated. Place in a covered dish and refrigerate for minimum of 3 hours. I made some slight adjustments for what I had on hand. I used shallot powder and garlic powder instead of onions and garlic. I used my new KitchenAid food processor, and it was so easy!

Now for the turkey burgers.  I decided to make a cilantro lime turkey burger with diced green chiles made with black lime seasoning. Turkey burgers are notorious for being on the dry side so to make sure they were moist enough I added an egg and some pork rind panko (a keto alternative to breadcrumbs). I used my KitchenAid stand mixer to mix up the meat mixture. 

Cilantro Lime Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey

1 tsp onion powder or shallot powder

1 can diced green chiles

lime juice

bunch of cilantro chopped

1 tsp black lime seasoning

1/4 C pork rind panko

1 egg

salt to taste

I added all the ingredients to my stand mixer and mixed until all incorporated. Be careful not to over mix. I then used my large cookie scoop to make patties with my hands and placed in a pan with oil to cook. Make sure you cook to a temperature of 165 degrees. Note: the mixture is very soft and gooey but once it cooks it binds really well. Make sure you flatten the patties; I just used my spatula. 

This recipe yielded 6 larger patties, or you can make sliders and get more out of it. Some things that make this recipe healthier: Avocado oil to cook the burgers in, turkey is a leaner option instead of beef, and I avoided the dairy but still got healthy fats from the olive oil in the chimichurri sauce. The pork rind panko is gluten free, Keto and paleo friendly, and has 0 carbs. Making this recipe great for those who are trying to eat gluten free or keto friendly and is a great option for diabetics if you eat without a bun. All the seasonings and herbs and chiles add a load of flavor into these burgers.