Gochujang Turkey Mushroom Burgers

The Mushroom Council is hosting a Swap It or Top It contest, so if you’d like a chance to win $5000, now might be a good time to go for it! The contest lasts til August 15, and you can submit a recipe each day! I decided to make Gochujang Turkey Mushroom Burgers!

There are three categories that you can enter under:

• Blendability Burger: substitute mushrooms for a high-calorie part of the burger (e.g. meat) to add an extra serving of veggies to your meal, while reducing calories/fat
• Swapability Burger: use mushrooms to make a meatless burger
• Mushroom Topped Burger: top your burger with mushrooms as an ingredient

There were fresh white button mushrooms on sale at Kroger, and I had a whole ton of lean ground turkey I wanted to use up, so I decided to make burgers! (Now that it’s actually warm again outside, grilling things doesn’t seem so bad.) I guess in theory, this would fall under “Blendability” and “Mushroom-Topped!” My food chopper/”processor” of sorts is packed away somewhere in a box, so I did not have the luxury of pushing a button to slice and dice em’ all. If you aren’t in my current predicament of having just moved out and into a place, but about to move again in about a week (it’s a long story), I would highly recommend using a food processor to cut down on time. :]

I decided to take a break yesterday evening and wanted to make a healthy dinner for Linda and Donna, two of my favorite ladies in town who run the local cat sanctuary and dog sanctuary in town, respectively. (They were also my guinea pigs for this recipe.) I was slightly worried about whether or not they’d like it since there were a lot of flavors in here that really aren’t as common (especially here). Donna wasn’t a fan of spicy foods, so she opted out of the sauce and just had the burgers over a bed of greens, but both of them really enjoyed it, and we had a lovely, relaxing evening, which I think we all really needed!

L: Thank you so much for dinner!
F: Of course! I’m so glad you liked it!
L: I didn’t just like it; I loved it! When you were telling me about all the things you put in there, I was a little worried, but the flavors came together so well! The pickled ginger you added gives it this extra twang that made it really unique.
F: :]!!!

In any case, she banned me from the kitchen when I tried to help clean up, so I am now here, typing up this post.

• Turkey adds a healthy amount of protein to the meal.
• Mushrooms are low in calories, full of B vitamins, and add a serving of veggies.
• Gochujang (made of red chili powder, glutinous rice powder, powdered fermented soybeans and salt) contains protein, vit B2, vit C and carotene.
• Ginger contains vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium.
• Hemp seeds/hearts are high in essential fatty acids/amino acids and protein.
• Greek yogurt makes the sauce creamy, while still allowing it to be low in calories + high in protein!

By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by The Mushroom Council and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

Gochujang Turkey Mushroom Burgers

Print Recipe

Gochujang Turkey Mushroom Burgers

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Multicultural

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

(Burgers)

• 2 lb extra lean ground turkey
• 9 oz white button mushrooms diced
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 4 in. piece pickled ginger diced (aka fresh ginger marinated beforehand for at least an hour in equal parts black rice vinegar + sweet vinegar)
• 2 tbsp gochujang sauce Korean hot pepper paste
• 1/2 lime juiced
• 2 tbsp garlic minced

(Topping)

• 1 oz. white button mushrooms diced
• 1/2 red onion diced
• sprinkle of hemp hearts
• Sriracha Yogurt Sauce
• 1/4 cup Fage 0% Greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 tbsp sriracha sauce
• 1/4 lime juiced

(Sriracha Wasabi-Mayo Sauce)

• 2 tbsp wasabi mayo
• 1 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 2 tbsp Fage 0% Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp gochujang sauce Korean hot pepper sauce

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine all the burger ingredients until well mixed.
• Form into ~3-in. diameter patties. (They'll be soft and may not hold their shape quite so well, so you might want to use a grill pan, and also non-stick spray since there's not much fat in there.)
• Grill until turkey's internal temperature is at 165 F.
• While the turkey burgers are grilling, prepare the sauces! Mix the ingredients for each sauce into a separate small bowl.
• When the burgers are done cooking, top each one with a dollop of sauce and a spoonful of the hemp-seed/red onion/mushroom mixture. Serve with a side of greens.

The recipe made 11 patties!

Sriracha Yogurt Sauce

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