Can’t decide between turkey, duck or chicken for your holiday celebrations why not have them all! After wandering through the farm rich town of East Gwillimbury, the culinary journey gave birth to a pretty awesome burger, with all the holiday fixin’s. Best part about it….these are the freshest of ingredients, so you can use the leftover meat to make other holiday delights. A head’s up to your tummy, these are really BIG burgers!
Ingredients
Oat bread, sour dough or challah stuffing
Splash of Olive oil from Olive Oil Co. and 1 tbsp of duck fat from King Cole Ducks
2 cups of bread cubes from your favourite loaf at Our Farm Organic Bakery
1 celery stick finely minced from Vince’s Market
½ onion finely minced from Vince’s Market
½ carrot finely minced from Vince’s Market
1 garlic clove minced
4 diced whole water chestnuts (optional)
2 tbs of freshly and finely chopped sage from Vince’s Market
1 tsp dried thyme from Vince’s Market
1/4 cup of freshly and finely chopped parsley from Vince’s Market
½ cup of dry white wine from the Wine Shop and Tasting Room
Approximately 1 cup of chicken broth
1 egg lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste.
Cranberry sauce – you can use store bought or a nice chutney as well
1 package of cranberries from Vince’s Market
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
½ lemon freshly squeezed juice
1/2 orange freshly squeezed juice
Burger
½ lb ground or 4 finely minced chicken thighs from AE Natural Meats
½ pound ground or 2 finely minced duck thighs (skin removed) from King Cole Ducks
1 lb of ground or finely minced turkey (dark and light meat) from Round the Bend Farm
1 tbsp of duck fat from King Cole Ducks
3 tbsp of freshly and finely chopped sage from Vince’s Market
2 tbsp of freshly and finely chopped thyme – (stem removed) from Vince’s Market
3 tbsp of freshly and finely chopped parsley from Vince’s Market
1 tsp of freshly minced rosemary from Vince’s Market
1 tsp of powdered garlic
1 tsp of powdered onion powder
1 egg lightly beaten
1/3 cup of fresh sour dough bread crumbs or small cubes soaked in cream from Our Farm Organic Bakery
½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
The cheese
6 slices of a mild Canadian cheddar or farmer cheese from Superior Meats.
The bun or bread
This is your choice, we prefer a fluffy brioche bun but you can used sliced sour dough bun, traditional hamburger bun, slices of challah bread, focaccia or even a croissant. The bread should not be too chewy or have a tough crust….or else your burger will break apart. We suggest you ask your local baker or visit Our Farm Organic Bakery
Steps
Important note, please make the elements in the following order, cranberry sauce, stuffing, burger.
Cranberry sauce
- In a saucepan add the fresh or frozen cranberries into a saucepan – save a ½ cup for later.
- Add 1 cup sugar
- Orange and lemon lemon juice
- The zest of ½ orange and lemon
- 2 TBSP of water
- Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the cranberries are soft, about 10 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium and cook until the cranberries burst – about 2 min.
- Turn off heat and add in the reserved cranberries. Let cool in sauce pan.
To make the stuffing
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Lightly brown the sour dough bread cube in the oven on a sheet pan. Approximately 3-5 minutes. Keep your eye on them. When lightly toasted remove from over and set aside. Alternatively, you can place sliced bread in toaster prior to cutting into cubes.
- In a large sautee pan, on medium add a splash of Olive Oil from the Olive Oil Co. and a tsp of duck fat from King Cole Ducks.
- When melted add the onions, celery, garlic, carrots and diced water chestnuts. Sautee for 5 minutes or when onions become translucent but carrots and celery still slightly firm. Add wine and reduce until almost gone. Add dried spices and herbs. Sautee for one minute then add chicken stock. Simmer until liquid is reduced by ½. Turn off heat.
- Add bread cubes into pan and toss until thoroughly mixed. Mixture should be lightly moist but not soaked. When mixture is room temperature add salt and pepper to taste……then beaten egg and mix well.
- Place in a greased over proof dish or pan and bake in oven until top is golden – approximately 20 minutes. Keep warm until burger assembly.
To make the burger
- Soak the bread crumbs or cubes in a light cream under just covered. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Mix the chicken, duck, turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add duck fat, herbs, dried spices. Mix well. Add pre soaked sour dough bread crumbs or cubes and lightly beaten egg. Add salt and pepper. Form into 6 large patties and set aside in fridge for 30 minutes until set.
- Preheat oven to 350 while you cook your burger.
- Heat large cast iron or heavy frying pan on stove top medium high. Add 1 tsbp of duck fat or olive oil. Fry the burgers 5 minutes a side until deep golden brown on both side. Check internal temperature (165 degrees for medium – 180 degree well done).
The assembly
- Place a slice of cheese over each burger. Place in oven until cheese is just melted. About 2 minutes.
- Turn off oven
- On your bun, spread cranberry sauce on the bottom, place the burger on top, add another dollop of cranberry sauce and top with a generous serving of stuffing. Place the top of the bun on the burger and enjoy. To hold it together….we use a steak knife for drama!
