Teriyaki Turkey Burgers with Asian Slaw

Teriyaki turkey burgers are a lighter, tangier version of the classic burger.  The end result is a meaty, juicy patty to be sure, but without the heaviness that can accompany red meat.  We served these on buns, but they would be equally good as lettuce wraps or in a whole wheat wrap stuffed with bean sprouts.  (The recipe would also make very delicious meat loafs with some adjustment to the cooking time.)  If you want to do a test run at home before serving a larger crowd, here's the recipe we started with.  We subbed scallions for yellow onions, fresh garlic for powdered, and added freshly grated ginger to arrive at the recipe below.

The Asian slaw is a sweeter and more highly-spiced version of a traditional coleslaw.  Our only diversion from the original recipe was to substitute tahini for peanut butter to accommodate guests with peanut allergies.  If you're going to attempt a slaw from scratch, give yourself an extra 30-45 minutes to prep the ingredients by hand.  Alternatively, bring along someone who's a whiz with a food processor and station that person at the machine all evening while the other cooks prep ingredients to fit through the shoot and pass them off to the master processor as needed.  This is a huge time saver.  You can also use the processor to prep some ingredients for the burgers.

With four cooks and a food processor, this meal took about 90 minutes to prep and serve.  If you have additional cooks, it may go a bit faster, but serving 40 burgers will always fall on the more time-consuming end of the meal spectrum-- plan on extra kitchen time.  That said, the meal is light, delicious and great in warmer weather.  We certainly enjoyed eating it ourselves and many of our guests were happy to have a healthier alternative to the conventional burger.  Enjoy!



TERIYAKI TURKEY BURGERS
Makes (40) 1/3 lb burgers or (50) 1/4 lb burgers (approximate)


10 lbs ground turkey thigh
8 eggs, beaten
3-4 cups breadcrumbs (you'll use more or less depending on the moisture in your turkey mixture)
2 cups chopped scallions
2 cups finely chopped red bell pepper
10 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 TBS sea salt
1 TBS freshly ground pepper
5 TBS freshly grated ginger
4 cups thick teriyaki sauce, divided
1 pineapple ring for each burger (optional)
1 slice montery jack cheese for each burger (optional)
40-50 whole wheat hamburger buns
Canola oil for brushing

If cooking indoors, preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Preheat flattop grill to med-high heat.   If grilling outdoors, prepare grill as required.

Place ground turkey in a very large mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, 3 cups bread crumbs, scallions, red pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, ginger and 3 cups teriyaki sauce and mix well.   Add the sauce to the ground turkey and mix all ingredients by hand until very well combined.  If the mixture feels too wet to work with, add additional breadcrumbs as necessary.  Divide the turkey mixture into two portions within the bowl and let rest.

Lightly oil two XL sheets pans with canola oil.  (If you're not using commercially-sized pans, you may need more.)  Place half the turkey mixture on each pan.  Continue to divide the mixture in half until you have 5 equal portions on each pan.   Each portion will yield (4) 1/3 lb burgers or (5) 1/4 lbs burgers.  Break down each portion into your desired number of burger patties.

While burgers are being prepared, arrange pineapple slices in a single row on an XL sheet pan.  While burgers are being cooked, roast pineapple in oven until lightly browned and keep warm until ready to serve.

If grilling outdoors, grill burgers as usual per your specific grill, ensuring that burgers are cooked all the way through before removing from grill.  Transfer burgers to a full size hotel pan and cover tightly until ready to serve.

If cooking indoors, lightly oil the flattop grill.  Place 16-20 burgers on the flattop grill at a time.  Quickly sear each burger on both sides (about 1-2 minutes per side) and return burgers to original sheet pans.  Using a basting brush, lightly baste the top side of each burger with the remaining teriyaki sauce.  When all burgers have been seared, basted and returned to the sheet pans, transfer pans to hot oven and bake until burgers are cooked through.  Cooking time will vary depending upon your oven, but should be approximately 10-12 minutes.  Test for doneness and return to oven for additional cooking time if necessary.  Remove burgers from oven and serve immediately.

Serve each burger on a whole wheat bun with a slice of cheese, a slice of roasted pineapple, roasted pepper ketchup (recipe follows) and bread and butter sandwich pickles.  Burgers are also good when topped with Asian Slaw (recipe follows).



ROASTED RED PEPPER KETCHUP
Makes 4 cups


12 oz roasted red pepper puree, or 12 oz roasted red peppers very finely chopped into a pulp
3 cups ketchup

Combine both ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.  Chill until ready to serve. 



ASIAN SLAW
Makes 50 generous servings


Dressing:
1-1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1-1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup tahini (or peanut butter)
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 cup unbleached sugar
1/2 cup minced fresh ginger
1/3 cup minced garlic

Slaw:
1 head green cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
1 head purple cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
1 head napa cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded
7 red bell peppers, sliced very thinly or shredded
7 carrots, grated or shredded
20 green onions, finely chopped or shredded
2 cups finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for dressing and whisk to combine.  Set aside until ready to use.

Prepare all slaw ingredients as directed and mix to combine in a very large serving bowl or full size hotel pan.  Pour dressing over slaw and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes until ready to serve.  Taste for flavor and season with salt as desired.   If serving later, cover tightly and keep cool until ready to serve.




ROASTED POTATO WEDGES
40 servings

If you have a large amount of cook power in your kitchen, prepare 40 servings of roasted potato wedges (also known as oven fries) per your favorite recipe and serve alongside the turkey burgers.

If you're working with 4 or less cooks, we'd recommend frozen potato wedges instead (we like Trader Joe's, as the turkey burgers and slaw are fairly labor intensive.  Prepare fries per the package instructions and serve with roasted red pepper ketchup (recipe above).

Teriyaki Tofu with Kung Pao Stir-fry

As you may suspect, this menu is a stretch for any crowd, community shelter notwithstanding.  No matter how tasty, healthy or economical tofu can be, an unfortunate reputation often proceeds it.  Inevitably, a few diners will hesitate (or refuse) to try it.   So with that said, we'll present the recipe below, because it really was delicious and many people did enjoy it.  But, we'll say upfront that our next attempt at teriyaki will be with poultry.  When we do it again, we'll likely prepare boneless, skinlesss chicken thighs using the same roasting method described below.

As for the Kung Pao vegetables, they're sweet, tangy and have a great array of textures.  We served them atop brown rice, but they would be equally good over rice noodles.  Whether you're using meat or tofu as your protein, this is a great side dish.  If you don't have access to a commercial flattop grill, you can accomplish the same dish by stir-frying your vegetables in stages using a wok or several large saute pans.  Divide the oil accordingly to oil the pans before each batch and transfer the vegetables to the hotel pan in stages, being sure to keep them warm until ready to serve.



TERIYAKI TOFU
Makes 40 tofu steaks

• 10 lbs extra-firm tofu, drained 
• 96 oz prepared teriyaki marinade (we like Trader Joy's Sesame Soyaki)

Preheat oven to 350 degees.

To marinate ahead of time:  Remove each pound of tofu from packaging and allow liquid to drain off.  Slice each pound of tofu into 4 equal rectangular slices, cutting in the long direction.  Using several roasting pans with high sides, lay the tofu in a single layer and cover with teriyaki.  Continue to stack single layers of tofu on top of each other, ensuring there is good coverage on all sides, until you have filled each roasting pan.  Cover tightly and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours.

To marinate just before cooking:   Slice the tofu as indicated above and arrange in a single layer on two commercial-sized sheet pans.  Brush each tofu slice with a generous coating of teriyaki and flip each slice over.  Brush the top side of the tofu once again and make sure each piece is well-coated with the marinade before baking.

Bake tofu for 10-15 minutes until it begins to brown slightly.  Remove from oven and baste the top side with any remaining teriyaki.   Gently flip tofu over, baste top side once again, and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes until marinade has been absorbed and tofu has taken on a deep brown color.



KUNG PAO VEGETABLE STIR-FRY
40 servings

Kung Pao Sauce Base

• 5 cups brown rice syrup
• 2-1/2 cups rice wine vinegar
• 1-1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste
• 1 can crushed pineapple with juice (a non-traditional but delicious addition) 

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan and mix until well blended.  Warm sauce over medium heat until gently simmering.  Sauce will gradually thicken and turn glossy.  At that point, remove from heat and keep warm until ready to serve.


Vegetable Stirfry

• 3/4 cup toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 TBS crushed red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 cup minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup minced fresh garlic
• 30 scallions, sliced thinly and diagonally
• 1 head green cabbage, very thinly sliced. 
• 7 cups diced green pepper
• 7 cups diced red pepper
• 3 lbs broccoli florets

Preheat flattop grill to med-high heat.  Prepare a large stock pot with 1" of water and place over high heat until water reaches a boil.  Cover pot with tightly fitting lid and turn heat to low until ready to use.  Place a full size hotel pan on the warming shelf above the oven to preheat.

Heat the oils, crushed red pepper flakes, ginger and garlic on the grilltop until ingredients are lightly fried, being careful not to burn garlic.  Add scallions and saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add cabbage and saute for 5-7 minutes until crisp-tender.  Add peppers and saute for an additional 3- 5 minutes until crisp-tender.

While vegetables are frying, return stockpot to high heat.  If you have a steamer basket, insert basket into stock pot.  If you don't have a steamer basket, set a metal colander  inside the stockpot.  If you have neither, just use the stockpot.  Add broccoli florets to the steamer basket, colander or pot.  Briefly cook the broccoli until it turns bright green and becomes slightly tender.  Remove broccoli from heat and set aside.

Transfer the stir-fry and the broccoli to the preheated hotel pan.  Gradually pour the Kung Pao sauce base over the vegetables, stirring to incorporate as you go, and stopping when the vegetables are lightly covered (but not heavily coated) with sauce.  Reserve any leftover sauce for another use.  Cover pan tightly and keep warm until ready to serve.


BROWN RICE
40 servings

• 7 cups brown rice
• 14 cups water

Add dry rice to an XL, heavy-bottomed stockpot.  Take stock pot to a deep sink and begin to rinse the rice in cool water, stirring rice gently with your hands to loosen any dirt or dust in the rice.   Rinse rice 3-4 times until water runs clear, carefully pouring out water between each rinse.

After final rinse, add 14 cups spring or filtered water to the stock pot and place pot over high heat.  Cover pot with a tightly-fitting lid and bring water to a boil.  Immediately turn heat down and allow rice to gently simmer for 40-45 minutes until rice is tender and all water has been absorbed.  Keep rice covered until ready to serve.

Thoughts for Food: Teriyaki

Part of our goal for the community meals we serve, and certainly part of the fun, is to introduce flavors that may not often appear at a shelter table.  Teriyaki may no longer be exotic, or even foreign, as so many ethnic dishes have been assimilated into the American kitchen.  But, in a shelter's quest to feed the most people in the most efficient manner, ethnic dishes may often be overlooked.  To that end, we turn to one of the many tasty teriyaki sauces available at the supermarket today (Traders Joe's makes our fave) and try to make something delicious.

Teriyaki is difficult to dislike.  It's a little sweet, a little salty, a little sour...  you get the idea.  It has the sensory quality of savoriness no matter if it's paired with meat or vegetables.  It goes well equally well with pineapple, with broccoli and with soy.  Not many things have that kind of range.  Because it packs so much flavor, there's little else you have to do but baste it on a food, as in the case of Teriyaki Tofu (or Teriyaki Chicken).  It's both economical and efficient for a community meal.

But beyond the above, it's a change for palettes that don't often have exposure to anything but the very familiar.  It may not become a favorite food, but it broadens repertoires.  It's often accompanied by other dynamic flavors like ginger and scallion which are good for the body and good for the soul.  They are lively flavors which brighten dishes and aid digestion.  The recipes this month prompt more explanation than usual which provides an opportunity to talk about health.  Why turkey vs. beef burgers?  What can soy offer for the aging female body?  Why is cabbage so good for you?  It's for conversations like these, and dialogue in general, that we cook for strangers in the first place.