These unique turkey burgers are based on the recipe shared from the executive chef at the Mar-a-Lago Resort in Florida. Oprah once listed them as one of her favorite things from Donald Trump’s famous resort restaurant and shared the recipe. They’ve become a family favorite for us. Don’t be scared by a unique ingredient in the patties (apples!). These burgers have an amazing sweet and savory flavor combo and an easy sauce takes them over the top. They’re great for a casual dinner at at home, and fun to serve to dinner guests, too! Try them with a great side salad and some sweet potato fries on the side for the perfect summer dinner.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter – for sautéing
- Celery – I realize it sounds like a strange thing in a burger, but trust!
- Apples – The original recipe calls for Granny Smith apples and I like to stick to that. Granny Smith are a more tart apple. You can substitute another variety of apple, and it would just add a little more sweetness, but still be delicious.
- Green Onions
- Ground turkey breast – Feel free to use lean ground turkey breast, or if you prefer, ground turkey (not 100% breast) works great, too. 100% breast is leaner and generally not as juicy or flavorful, but it works in this recipe combined with so many other great things. I personally like the added fat and flavor from ground turkey with dark meat (85/15).
- Tabasco sauce – This doesn’t make the burgers too spicy, but you can also leave it out, I often do. Feel free to add a little more if you like your food with a kick.
- Parsley – Opt for flat leaf Italian style parsley (as opposed to the curly leaf style you see used as garnish).
- Lemon
- Major Grey’s Chutney – You can find this in the grocery store near the BBQ sauces, often on the top shelf. It’s a delicious sweet and savory jam made with mangoes and seasonings.
- Buns – A good quality hamburger bun is a must, I prefer brioche buns.
- Additional toppings: as desired, like lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, etc.
How to Make Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burgers
- Sauté celery, apples, and onions. Apples and celery not only add really great flavor here, but they also keep the burgers nice and moist- which is helpful as turkey has a tendency to dry out on the grill.
- Next, combine the sautéed apple mixture with ground turkey, Major Grey’s Chutney, the zest and juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper, and a splash of Tabasco. Form that into patties.
- Grill. When you place them on the grill, do it very gently. Turkey is much more fragile than beef and it’s easy to crumble the burgers right up. Another key thing is to not flip the burgers too soon, or too often or they can also fall to pieces. Let them cook completely on one side and then flip just once to finish cooking on the other side. When you’re all done you’ll have beautiful burgers!
- Add Mango Chutney sauce. I’m a huge fan of mango chutney, and one of my favorite things to do is make a burger spread to go along with these burgers with simply mango chutney + mayo. It brings all the flavors together and is great on other burgers as well.
Serving Suggestions
I love pairing these burgers with a side of Baked Sweet Potato Fries. You could also try these Oven Steak Fries , or even Grilled Corn on the Cob.
If you love mango chutney, and have some to use up, I highly recommend this Chicken Salad With Mango Chutney Dressing!
Frequently Asked Questions
While I have not personally tested any substitutes, apricot or peach jam may make a great substitute. Feel free to try it if necessary, just remember that chutney is quite thick, so a thinner jam may not hold up as well when forming patties.
Absolutely! If you have a crowd to feed, go ahead and mix everything up a day ahead of time and store in the fridge, either all together in an airtight container, or pre-formed into patties and separated by a piece of parchment between each one.
You can absolutely cook them indoors on a grill pan or large skillet.
Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
Burger Patties
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup finely chopped celery
- 3 Granny Smith Apples peeled and very finely diced or shredded
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
- 4 pounds ground turkey breast or 85/15 turkey
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons tabasco sauce
- ½ lemon zested then juiced
- ½ bunch parsley chopped
- ¼ cup Major Grey’s Chutney
Burger Spread
- ¾ cup mayo
- 4 tablespoons Major Grey’s Chutney
For Assembly
- 8 good quality hamburger buns
- additional toppings as desired lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, etc.
Instructions
- In a saute pan over medium-low heat, sauté the celery, apples, and green onions in butter until tender. Let cool. Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sauteed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours to firm.
- To make burger spread, combine mayo and chutney and whisk until smooth, Feel free to add more chutney as desired.
- Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper. Place on preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165℉. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- To serve, toast buns if desired and spread with sauce. Add toppings as desired like greens, onion and tomato.
- Try it with a side of Sweet Potato Fries, or some Grilled Corn on the Cob for a great (and healthy!) summer meal.
Questions & Reviews
I too saw these on Oprah and had to make them. I thought they were great. I just didn’t like the lemon flavor so I omit the lemon. I would love the chicken recipe you were talking about so that I can use up some of the jar of chutney that I have. I also made the Maralago Key Lime pie. Which was so easy and so amazing. I have 3 go to Turkey Burger recipes that I make regularly and this is one of them.
I remember these burgers from that Oprah episode and wondered if they really tasted as good as Oprah said. I have had them on my rather lengthy ‘recipes to make list’ ever since but since my bf usually makes the burgers when we have them I have not made these yet. I guess I need to kick him off the grill so that I can finally make these!
These are going on my dinner list this week! I actually get grossed out by beef hamburgers but recently discovered that I don’t mind turkey burgers.
These look fabulous! I’m going to have to try them after my next grocery store trip.
nice and interesting and now certainly want to eat something
Oh my goodness… This will be dinner tonight! We make turkey burgers a lot and it will be great to have some different flavors mixed in.
I was just thinking about making turkey burgers when you posted this! Thanks, I can’t wait to make these:)
I happened to be watching the show the day she announced that she loved this burger. So, I did what any Oprah-lover would do and made the burger. After all, Oprah does know best. They were so delicious. My whole family loved them. My husband said they were one of the best burgers ever. And that’s saying a lot. Totally different, but really good. Especially if you’re into turkey burgers. Because turkey burgers can be bad if you’re not careful, lol.
I totally agree about turkey burgers being bad if you’re not careful! These are so good, aren’t they?? Glad you like them too!
These are one of my summer staples. I LOVE them. My kids LOVE them. My husband…..well, this is pretty much the one thing I make that he will not touch with a 10 ft. pole. But that’s fine, more for me! I actually half this recipe and still get 8 good sized burgers out of it. Oh, and that chutney?! That right there makes the burger.
Yes; they were dope.