Tangy Meatloaf Burgers

Every other Thursday night is a little crazy in our house because my daughter has her Girl Scout meetings from 5:45-7 PM at the school.  So I have to get her fed before she goes to the meeting.  Last Thursday was even more challenging because I volunteered to be a meeting helper so I had to make sure that we had all eaten!  I ended up pre-making the burgers earlier in the day and let them sit covered in the fridge until I was ready to cook them.  Then, while I was cooking the burgers I heated up some french fries in the oven.  This meal ended up being quick, easy, and tasty.  I used the meatloaf mix for the burgers because I feel like ground turkey tends to be a little dry (or maybe that's just me overcooking it!).  These burgers were super moist!  Plus, it gave me an excuse to use up all of the duck sauce packets that we get with Chinese take-out. As you can see from this picture, I did not garnish our burgers with lettuce, tomato, and onions.  I do not like lettuce on my burger and I'm not buying lettuce just for my husband's burger!  I had saved the half of the onion to slice into rings and soak in the water, but forgot about it in the refrigerator.  Honestly though, I did not think that these needed the extra onion.  I thought they were almost too oniony and was surprised that my daughter didn't complain.  Next time I might try sauteing them first before adding them to the meat mixture.  I started each of the kids with half of a burger and was pleasantly surprised when my daughter ate her half and asked for more! My son ate half of his half but of course ate all of his french fries! I printed the original recipe, as is, but I don't have an indoor grill pan.  I ended up microwaving the burgers for a couple of minutes and then cooking them the rest of the way through in our cast iron skillet. If you pre-make the burgers the night before, these can be a quick and easy weeknight dinner!

Tangy Meatloaf Burgers
recipe from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients:
1 small onion (1/2 sliced into rings, 1/2 diced)
1 pound meatloaf mix (ground pork, beef and veal) or ground turkey
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (preferably panko)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup duck sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 potato buns or other rolls, split
Lettuce, sliced tomato and pickle slices, for topping
Sweet potato chips, for serving (optional)

Directions:
Preheat a grill to medium high. Soak the onion rings in a bowl of cold water. Meanwhile, combine the meatloaf mix with the diced onion, parsley, breadcrumbs, egg, paprika, 1 tablespoon each ketchup and duck sauce, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Gently form into four 1-inch-thick patties; make an indentation in the center of each.

Brush the patties with the olive oil and grill until marked on the bottom, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ketchup and duck sauce in a small bowl for brushing; set aside a few tablespoons. Turn the patties, brush with the ketchup mixture and continue grilling until cooked through, about 5 more minutes. Toast the buns, if desired.

Spread the buns with the reserved ketchup mixture. Drain the onion rings. Serve the patties on the buns; top with the onion, lettuce, tomato and pickles. Serve with sweet potato chips, if desired.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This recipe is shared at:
Foodtastic Friday
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living and Eating
Friday Favorite Finds @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen
Simple Meals Friday @ Mexican Wildflower