I know that fall is here, but I couldn’t resist one more, summer–time recipe to share with you before I go completely into fall mode with comfort food consisting of squash and soup recipes.

We have created burgers on here before, but this time we thought we would change it up a bit and share with you our turkey burger recipe. The great thing about burgers is you can really just throw a bunch of spices in a bowl with some ground meat and you instantly have the makings of a pretty good burger.

Knowing that we were making turkey burgers, I wanted to top them with something that would compliment the mild taste of ground turkey. The reason I selected pineapple is two-fold. I really think that pineapple is the perfect burger topping, they are just the right size to place on a generous burger patty. Also, Jamie just discovered a new found love for the flavour of pineapple, so I wanted to take the opportunity to have more pineapple at home.

After the decision was made for pineapple, I thought that the sweetness of caramelized onions would be great addition to this burger. And of course, no burger is complete without bacon 😉

Now that we had determined our burger toppings, there was only one thing left to do, and that was to make our own burger buns. You might think I am a little crazy, to make my own buns each time we have burgers, but hear me out.

We don’t eat burgers that often. And we don’t eat bread that often either. So, it makes absolutely perfect sense to me that if we are going to have a day of indulgence, I might was well break out the stand mixer and make delicious, homemade buns. There is just something about the smell of bread baking that is intoxicating.

I went to my collection of cooking magazines to find a new burger bun recipe. The last time we had burgers, I made pretzel burger buns, but since I wanted to share a new recipe with you, I had to find one. I grabbed an edition of *Cook’s Country magazine from May 2011 and they had a recipe for classic dinner rolls. I thought if this makes soft, yeasty dinner rolls, then it would make a delicious burger bun.

*Cook’s Country is published by the same group that brings me America’s Test Kitchen.

Instead of making the twelve rolls that the recipe is supposed to yield, I made four large burger buns to have with our quarter pound turkey burgers. Topped with the sweetness of pineapple and caramelized onions, and the satisfying crunch of crispy bacon, this was the perfect burger to end summer 🙂

To make it feel a bit more like summer time, we also whipped up a batch of Potato Bacon Salad to serve along-side.

So, with today being October 1^st, it is time to say good-bye to summer flavours and hello to all the deliciousness of the fall harvest.

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Burger Bun Recipe Courtesy of:
Cook’s Country

Ingredients:

Burger Buns

• 1 ¼ cups water (heated to 110°F)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup instant potato flakes
• 2 ¼ tsps instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Sesame seeds

Burger Toppings

• 2 large white onions
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• Salt to taste
• 4 slices grilled pineapple
• 8 slices bacon – crispy

Turkey Burgers

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp Basil, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder

 Directions:

Burger Buns

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Heat oven to 200°F and turn it off. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease large glass bowl.
2. Whisk water, oil and sugar in large liquid measuring cup until the sugar is dissolved. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix flour, potato flakes, yeast and 1 ½ tsp salt until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add water mixture and mix until the dough comes together (about one minute). Increase speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and comes away from the side of bowl (about six minutes).
3. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and knead briefly to form a smooth ball. Transfer dough to prepared glass bowl and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the turned-off oven until the dough has doubled in size (about forty-five minutes).
4. Gently press down the dough on a lightly floured counter. Divide the dough into quarters. Form each piece into a rough ball, by pinching and pulling dough edges under so that the top is smooth. On a clean counter, cup each ball with the palm of your hand and roll into a smooth, tight ball. Transfer to a prepared baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest in turned-off oven until doubled in size (about twenty minutes).
5. Remove unbaked rolls from the oven and discard the plastic. Heat oven to 400°F. Brush the rolls with the lightly beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until golden brown and 200°F in the middle (about fifteen minutes). Be sure to rotate your baking sheet halfway through baking, to ensure even baking.
6. Let cool completely before slicing in half for burgers.

Burger Toppings

1. In saucepan over medium-low heat, sauté onions in olive oil, butter, brown sugar and salt. Stir constantly. Once onions start to caramelize, turn down the heat to avoid burning. Onions should fully caramelize in 40 – 50 minutes. For more steps on caramelizing onions, click here
2. Grill Pineapple for 2 minutes per side, until cooked through.
3. Cook Bacon until desired doneness.

Turkey Burgers

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Form into 4 large patties.
2. Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180°F.
3. Place burger on fresh baked bun and top with grilled pineapple, caramelized onions and crispy bacon.