A flavorful burger in the middle of winter? Why not!
As excited as we are to try these again in the summer, these basil burgers were a great meal to enjoy on a cold, Chicago night. We also live in an apartment and have no outdoor space to grill, so trying these in the summer won’t make a huge difference.
Here is what Marguerite had to say:
Last week I mentioned we hosted our parents for a “try our blog food” dinner. Technically, my mother hosted and we cooked because we live 500ish miles away from our parents and needed a place to host while we were in town. In addition to the zucchini bread, the basil burgers were on the menu for the main course. Again, total hit. That was a huge compliment especially from my dad who is the grill master.
These burgers have a nice hint of basil which compliments the onion flavor. Neither Aaron nor myself is a huge fan of heavy onion, but paired with the ground beef and turkey it packed a positive punch.
The addition of parmesan cheese “made it” for Aaron. He loved how that flavor worked with the basil and felt like it added that something special to the burgers.
I loved how the basil burgers were 50% beef and 50% turkey, making them just a little leaner and healthier.
When we made these for ourselves, we cooked them in a skillet on the stove. For our parents, we used my mother’s George Foreman grill. We also have one at our place, but forgot to use it until after dinner was ready. Both methods of cooking worked well and there wasn’t a noticeable difference in the flavor, however the grilled burgers had a more consistent texture. Which is to say they were less charred on the outside. If you prefer a more blackened burger, go for the skillet!
Again, I have a feeling we’ll be throwing this recipe into the regular dinner rotation.
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- 2/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh basil OR
- 1 Tbsp dried basil
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- garlic
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 lbs ground beef
- 1 lbs ground turkey
- 8 Hamburger buns
- 8 slices tomato
- Combine and mix well the following ingredients: Egg, onion, parmesan cheese, basil, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Add the ground beef and ground turkey and mix well.
- Cook.