Buffalo Wings Burgers (Adapted from Cooking With Love)
- ½ small yellow onion, minced
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for cooking the burgers
- ½ teasp kosher salt
- ½ teasp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teasp hot sauce, preferably Frank's
- ½ teasp dried thyme
- ½ teasp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1¼ pounds raw, coarsely ground turkey or chicken (white meat)
- 4 whole-wheat potato hamburger buns
- ½ lemon
- ½ cup low-fat mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp hot sauce, preferably Frank's
- 2 teasp honey
- ½ teasp ground cayenne pepper
Celery Topping:
- 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced at an angle
- 2 Tbsp blue cheese dressing
- Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onion has turned lightly golden, then add the black pepper, hot sauce, thyme and crushed red pepper flakes, stirring to incorporate.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the ground turkey or chicken; use slightly dampened hands to gently combine the mixture. Form into 4 patties of equal size.
- Grill burgers for 3 to 5 minutes or until browned on the bottom, then turn the burgers over and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until cooked through; you can tell because the juices will run clear.
- While the burgers are cooking, make the mayo: squeeze a tablespoon of lemon juice into a medium bowl.
- Add the mayonnaise, hot sauce, honey and cayenne pepper, stirring to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the topping: mix the celery pieces with blue cheese dressing. (Note: this is shortcut version. For Carla's celery and blue cheese slaw recipe, check out her book!)
- Spread a tablespoon or so of the mayo on the inside tops and bottoms of the buns.
- Place the burgers on the bottom buns and top with the celery mixture. (I added a slice of tomato too.)
- Complete the sandwiches with the top buns. Serve warm.
Yum! These burgers were surprisingly super juicy and not overly spicy. The Buffalo wing flavor came through subtly from the sauce in the patty and also in the mayo. Of course, if you prefer more heat, feel free to add more red pepper flakes or a couple more dashes of hot sauce. The celery slaw on top was crunchy and I am happy I added that slice of tomato, which gave another refreshing layer to these meaty Buffalo Wings Burgers.