Delicious Christmas burger recipe

Stuart Forster shares his delicious Christmas burger recipe. The recipe features spiced turkey burgers served with pigs in blankets, cranberry sauce and mozzarella cheese in a brioche bun.

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This Christmas burger idea came to me while reading about Sunday dinner wraps. The wraps feature roast beef, roast vegetables and onion gravy rolled in what is effectively a squashed Yorkshire pudding.

The wraps made me wonder if I could pack all the flavours associated with a Christmas dinner into a burger. I’m pleased to report that my experimentation proved a success. I’m happy to share my Christmas burger recipe with you here.

Would it have been too much to add a layer of Brussel sprouts to the burger? I chose to leave that element out.

You’ll see that my Christmas burgers are served with a side of dirty fries (featuring finely grated Parmesan cheese and bacon bits – they’re delicious!). Perhaps mini roast potatoes would have been more appropriate?

Americans may find my turkey burger recipe ideal as a downsized, easy-to-cook alternative to a Thanksgiving dinner. Let me know in the comments below what you think about serving a Thanksgiving burger.

No matter how tasty these turkey burgers are, I don’t seriously expect anyone to forgo a proper Christmas dinner. These Christmas burgers are ideal for serving while watching seasonal movies or as a treat before wrapping presents.

Homemade turkey burger topped with Mozzarella cheese.
Homemade turkey burger topped with mozzarella cheese. Burgers can take an array of forms. 

Homemade turkey burgers

I enjoy preparing burgers fairly frequently. I find homemade burgers far tastier than the premade alternative. Made with steak mince they’re packed with my favourite seasonings, so high in quality. The burgers barely change in size during cooking, so they’re well worth that little bit of extra effort.

Until developing this recipe, I’d never previously prepared homemade turkey burgers. Consequently, it’s no exaggeration to say this is the best ever turkey burger I’ve ever cooked.

Hopefully, you’ll agree that this recipe results in a tasty turkey burger ideal for serving throughout the year, not just at Christmas.

This recipe also works well if you want to prepare air fryer turkey burgers.

Christmas burger made with a turkey burger, cranberry sauce and pigs in blankets in a toasted brioche bun.
A Christmas burger made with a turkey burger, cranberry sauce and pigs in blankets in a toasted brioche bun.

Ingredients for Christmas turkey burgers

This recipe proves sufficient to create five turkey burgers. I served two of them, freezing three of the uncooked patties for closer to Christmas.

My Christmas burger recipe requires the following ingredients:

  • 500 grams (18 ounces) of turkey mince
  • 6 chipolata sausages
  • 3 bacon rashers
  • 150 grams (5 ounces) of mozzarella cheese
  • 2 onions (small)
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 4 mushrooms
  • 1 egg (medium)
  • 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons of cranberry sauce
  • 2 brioche buns
  • 1 chicken stock cube
  • 1 teaspoon of powdered ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • Oil for frying
Ingredients of my tasty homemade Christmas burger recipe made with turkey mince.
Ingredients of my tasty homemade Christmas burger recipe.

Christmas burger preparation method

You can bake the pigs in blankets while preparing the mixture from which you will shape your burgers.

How to prepare pigs in blankets

  1. Slice the bacon rashers in half (lengthways). Wrap half a rasher around each of the chipolatas. Place them on a baking tray.
  2. Bake the bacon-wrapped chipolatas in an oven pre-heated to 200°C (400°F); that’s 180°C (360°F) for fan-assisted ovens. Remove the pigs in blankets from the oven after 12 minutes.

Leave the oven on for the final stage in preparing the burgers.

Pigs in blankets (bacon rashers on chipolata sausages) on top of a homemade turkey burger.
Pigs in blankets (bacon rashers on chipolata sausages) on top of a homemade turkey burger.

How to prepare the turkey burgers

  1. Chop one of the onions into small pieces and set them to one side.
  2. Mince the garlic cloves.
  3. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set it aside.
  4. Add the turkey mince to a large mixing bowl then mix in the finely chopped onions and half of the minced garlic cloves.
  5. Break up the chicken stock cube into the mixture then add the powdered ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix the ingredients together.
  6. Add approximately half of the beaten egg to the mixture to act as the binding agent. (Be careful not to add too much egg. It makes sense to add the egg little by little, to ensure the mixture does not become sloppy.)
  7. Roll the mixture on a board until it is approximately 1.5 centimetres thick (about a sixth on an inch). Then cut circular patties. My turkey burger patties measured 10 centimetres (almost four inches) in diameter.
  8. Fry each turkey burger for approximately three minutes on each side. I used a frying pan over medium heat with a little oil.

Garlic mushrooms and onion rings

Carefully slice the remaining onion to prepare onion rings for the burger stack. Gently fry the onion in a frying pan.

Meanwhile, slice the mushrooms and fry them with the remaining minced garlic. Once cooked, place the garlic mushrooms on a plate.

Stacking a Christmas burger

Next comes the assembly of the burger:

  1. Place the lower halves of the brioche buns on a baking tray.
  2. Smear a teaspoonful of mayonnaise onto the open side of the brioche bun.
  3. Add half of the garlic mushrooms.
  4. Place the cooked turkey burger on top of the mushrooms.
  5. Smooth a tablespoonful of the cranberry sauce onto the burger. If you feel inclined, adding a few drops of vanilla essence to the cranberry sauce enhances its flavour.
  6. Stack three of the pigs in blankets on top of the turkey burger.
  7. Add an onion ring.
  8. Slice the mozzarella and place it on top of the burger stack. Place the stacked burger into the oven for three to five minutes (until the mozzarella melts).
  9. Transfer to a plate for serving and add the top of the brioche bun.
Onion rings on top of pigs in blankets and a homemade turkey burger to create a seasonal feast
Onion rings on top of pigs in blankets and a homemade turkey burger to create a seasonal feast.
Mozzarella cheese ready to bake over this tasty Christmas burger recipe.
Mozzarella cheese ready to bake over this tasty Christmas burger recipe.

The whiteness of the melted mozzarella is symbolic of a covering of snow during a white Christmas. If you prefer, use mature cheese.

Tasty homemade turkey burger topped with an onion ring and Mozzarella cheese in a brioche bun.
Tasty homemade turkey burger topped with an onion ring and Mozzarella cheese in a brioche bun.

A side of dirty fries

I served my Christmas burgers with homemade dirty fries and a garlic mayonnaise dip.

Made using the air fryer function of my Ninja Foodi, the chips take 23 minutes to cook.

The Ninja Foodi is available via Amazon:

Only a little oil is needed. I left the skins on the potatoes, to which I added Cajun seasoning.

I grated Parmesan cheese over the cooked chips plus a couple of tablespoons of crispy bacon bits. The result is quick, easy and tasty dirty fries.

Hopefully, you enjoy this seasonal turkey burger recipe. You’re welcome to leave a comment below if you have suggestions on how to tweak and improve my Christmas burger.

Christmas burger in a brioche bun served with dirty fries and a garlic mayo dip.
Christmas burger in a brioche bun served with dirty fries and a garlic mayo dip.

Further information

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2 Comments

  • Alan Wooding

    November 15, 2020 at 08:36 Reply

    Congratulations Stuart… your Christmas burgers look fabulous and just reading the recipe makes my mouth water! Living in Bedfordshire, I would probably add Brussels Sprouts as our small county is one of the top sprout growing area in the UK – and I love ‘em!

    • Go Eat Do

      November 15, 2020 at 12:57 Reply

      Adding sprouts is something I considered and may add next time I cook this dish. I’m a fan of sprouts but had no idea that Bedfordshire was a key producer.

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