Grilled Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers need help. Adding diced vegetables and grilling will do the trick. This recipe simply used vegetables that I happened to have in my refrigerator, but a wide variety can be used. Virtually anything that is used in a salad (other than salad greens). They add flavor and texture with a crunch. The quantities of vegetables listed are not sacred and can be varied according to taste but use a lot of them. You may question the radishes, but they are an excellent choice.

1 pound ground turkey, chicken can be substituted

1/4 red onion, diced

4 large mushrooms, diced

4 radishes, minced

1/4 orange bell pepper, diced

1 stalk celery, minced

1 tablespoon minced pepperoncini

1 teaspoon salt

Coarse ground black pepper or cayenne to taste, optional

Combine all ingredients and thoroughly mix by hand and form into burgers. To simplify this process I recommend using rubber gloves. Not to keep your hands clean, but the meat will not stick to them. Place the burgers on pieces of waxed paper. This simplifies moving the burgers from the plate to the grill and keeps the plate clean for carrying them back to the kitchen.

Prepare the grill for direct cooking over a hot fire. Place the burgers directly over the fire and grill for 4 minutes per side, then turn and grill for 2 additional minutes on the first side, or until done. The burgers are soft, and you may worry they will fall through the cooking grate, but they will not.