This Cobb turkey burger turns the classic Cobb salad, made with romaine, turkey, bacon, avocado, and blue cheese, into a burger heaped with tempting toppings. Definitely not your ordinary, dry, bland turkey burger.
As Bobby Flay explains, “Cobb salads occupy a delicious middle ground between the decadent (hello, bacon and blue cheese!) and the virtuous (lean turkey, and it is a salad after all).” Here, though, it’s pushed all the way to the decadent edge of the scale when it’s transformed into a burger. Talk about our kinda salad. Originally published July 27, 2009.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Cobb Turkey Burger
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey, 90 percent lean
- 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 ounces crumbled blue cheese (about 1/2 cup), plus more for garnish (optional)
- 4 hamburger buns, split; toasted, if desired (see Note)
- 1 1/4 cups finely shredded romaine lettuce
- 1 large ripe beefsteak tomato, cut into 8 slices
- 1 ripe Hass avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced
- 8 slices crisp cooked bacon
Directions
- 1. To make the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and then whisk in the olive oil.
- 2. Divide the turkey into 4 equal portions (about 6 ounces each). Form each portion loosely into a 3/4-inch-thick burger and make a deep depression in the center with your thumb. Season both sides of each burger with salt and pepper.
- 3. Brush the turkey burgers with the oil. Grill the burgers until golden brown and slightly charred on the first side, about 5 minutes for turkey. Flip over the burgers. Cook turkey burgers until cooked throughout, about 5 minutes on the second side, topping each one with some of the cheese and a basting cover during the last minute of cooking (see Note).
- 4. Place the Cobb turkey burgers on the bun bottoms. Toss the romaine with the dressing and arrange over the burgers. Top each with 2 slices of bacon, 2 slices of tomato, sliced avocado, and additional blue cheese, if desired. Cover each burger with the bun tops and serve immediately.
Notes
- To toast a bun on a grill, grill pan, or griddle, split the bun open, place it cut side down on the grill, and grill until light golden brown, about 10 seconds.
- Getting the perfect melt is easy to accomplish, I use a basting cover, an inexpensive aluminum dome that short-order cooks use in diners. It looks like the lid of a saute pan, except that it is domed to fit over the burger. A basting cover allows just enough clearance, meaning the cheese doesn’t touch and stick to it cot the cover can still hold in the heat to melt the cheese beautifully.
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Cobb Turkey Burger Recipe © 2009 Boy Meets Grill, Inc. Photo © 2009 Ben Fink. All rights reserved. All recipes and photos used with permission of the publisher.
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Damn, Bobby Flay, this was DELICIOUS! Never thought to use a vinaigrette instead of the usual ketchup and mustard to flavor a burger. I will make this again and again.
Love to hear you had exactly the same reaction as us, Rebecca!