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Teriyaki turkey burgers with grilled pineapple, lettuce, and soft bun.

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers with Grilled Pineapple

Yield: 6 burgers
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground turkey (see note)
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup unseasoned bread crumbs, I use panko
  • ¼ cup grated onion
  • ¼ cup teriyaki sauce (see note)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt, I use coarse, kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, I use coarsely ground
  • 6 rings of sliced fresh pineapple, cored (see note for canned)
  • Hamburger buns
  • Lettuce
  • Additional teriyaki sauce
  • Swiss cheese, optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat a grill to medium or medium high (I set my pellet grill to 375 degrees F).
  • In a large bowl, add the ground turkey, egg, bread crumbs, onion, teriyaki sauce, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Combine well (I dig in with my hands until it's evenly combined).
  • Form six burgers (or more, see note below) about 1/2-inch thick.
  • If meat tends to stick to the grates of your grill, brush the grates with oil or lightly brush both sides of the turkey burgers with oil.
  • Grill the burgers about six minutes on the first side, flip, baste with teriyaki sauce and grill another 4-6 minutes until cooked through (instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees F).
  • Once the burgers are flipped, add the pineapple to the grill and grill 4-5 minutes, flipping once. Optional: brush pineapple with teriyaki sauce during last few minutes of grilling.
  • Serve the turkey burgers on buns with additional teriyaki sauce, lettuce and Swiss cheese (optional). Burgers are delicious served without a bun, too.

Notes

Nutrition Facts: the nutrition facts for this recipe were calculated based on the patty and pineapple (but do not include the bun or additional toppings as those are added based on personal preference). 
Ground turkey: I use 85% lean ground turkey for this recipe and usually use either the Butterball or Jennie-O brand. I don't recommend using the ground turkey that comes in the tubes - it is mushy and falls apart while cooking.
Teriyaki sauce: Use your favorite brand of teriyaki sauce (Trader Joe's has an excellent sauce; I've also used the Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce). I have a couple homemade teriyaki sauce recipes that would probably work great, too (here and here).
Pineapple: I have only used fresh pineapple; you could experiment with canned. Pat dry and watch carefully on the grill (might be a bit more fragile than fresh pineapple).
Yield: I make six fairly large (but fairly thin) burgers out of this recipe - you could certainly make smaller burgers to yield more or scale down the recipe as needed.