Spicy Guacamole & Bacon Turkey Sliders

FREE STUFF!

Get your attention? This week we have a wonderful BBQ prize package to give away to one lucky follower (but you must live in Canada – sorry to all our US readers)! We were approached by the Turkey Farmers of Canada last month to see if we would be interested in joining the GREAT GRILLING TURKEY TRIAL from July 9th-15th. Sounds exciting right? Well we were asked to cook something from their recipe page or create our own and in turn they would send us a lovely prize package to give away to you guys, our faithful readers! Since we are fans of turkey, giving things away AND trying new recipes, of course we said YES.

As usual I was inspired by ingredients on hand, which happened to be avocado – leading me to think Guacamole! Having never made turkey burgers, I looked to these Turkey Sliders for guidance, swapping ingredients like mayo with pureed avocado, and using lime juice instead of soy sauce, I came up with a burger that was pretty darn tasty!

Spicy Guacamole & Bacon Turkey Sliders

Makes 12 sliders

• ½ Avocado (pureed)
• ¼ Large red onion (diced)
• 2-3 Pinches chopped cilantro
• 1 Jalapeno (diced)
• Juice of ½ a Lime
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 lb Ground turkey
• 1 Egg
• 1 Clove chopped garlic
• ¼ Cup dry bread crumbs
• Bacon
• 12 Slider buns

Start off by mixing together your avocado, lime juice, red onion, cilantro and jalapeno (if you want it spicier mix in the seeds as well). Once everything is mixed together, add salt and pepper to taste (I made mine saltier than normal, as I wanted to compensate for the ground turkey meat that would be added).

Once the guacamole mixture reaches your desired taste, add in the ground turkey, garlic, egg and bread crumbs. Mix everything together with your (clean) hands until you can begin to form patties. To form the patties, I took a heaping large spoonful of the burger mix, formed it into a ball, placed it between two squares of parchment paper and flattened with a large coffee cup (due to lack of a meat press!). You should end up with a burger that is slightly wider then your slider bun and about ½ an inch to ¾ of an inch thick. Make sure your patties are all similar thickness so they cook evenly. Once you have formed all of the slider patties (around 12), put them in the fridge while your barbecue is preheating and you are making the Cilantro-Lime Mayo.

Cilantro-Lime Mayonnaise

• ½ Avocado
• 2 Tbsp mayo
• Juice of ½ a lime
• 2 pinches cilantro

I took the easy way out and just used store bought mayo, mixed with some extra ingredients, but if you’re up for the challenge, you are more than welcome (and encouraged) to make yours from scratch! To make the mayo, mix in about two tablespoons of your favourite mayonnaise, half of a pureed avocado, juice from half a lime and 2 pinches of chopped cilantro.

Once your grill has preheated, cook your sliders on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C), whichever comes first. Feel free to toast your slider buns as well, then top with the mayo, red onion, tomato, lettuce, bacon and of course your turkey slider and dig in!

I hope this recipe inspires everyone to try some turkey recipes this summer, especially if you’re accustomed to just eating the usual holiday turkey (which often gives turkey a bad rep!). Check out everything else that’s going on with the Great Grilling Turkey Trial from July 9th-15th on the Turkey Farmers of Canada’s Facebook and Twitter.

If you live in Canada, be sure to comment and let us know you want to win the BBQ Prize Pack to be entered into the draw!

The prize pack includes:

• 1 Turkey Farmers of Canada Hat
• 1 Turkey Farmers of Canada Heat Resistant Glove
• 1 Turkey Farmers of Canada Freezer Bag
• 1 President’s Choice Digital Instant Read Thermometer
• 1 Meat Baller
• 1 Turkey Recipe Booklet

Happy Turkey Grilling!

Bob