Italian Meatball Burger

WiGal's Note:

For lighter grilling try this spicy burger which freezes well. This came from Cooking Light. I always have leftover Italian turkey sausage after making a batch of these for my freezer, so I use the leftover sausage to make Grilled Italian Sausage Veggies in Foil.

• Total Time: 20 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 8 ounces Italian turkey sausage
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon fennel seed , crushed
• 1 lb ground sirloin
• cooking spray
• 6 slices fresh mozzarella cheese
• 2 ounces italian bread rolls , split
• ¾ cup fat-free tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Prepare grill.
2. Remove casings from sausage. Combine sausage, oregano, basil, salt, fennel seeds, and ground sirloin. Divide beef mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2 inch patty.
3. Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes. Turn patties over; grill 2 minutes. Divide fresh mozzarella cheese evenly over patties, and grill an additional 5 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165 degrees. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes.
4. Place rolls, cut side down on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Place 1 patty on bottom half, top with 2 tablespoons of sauce, and top with other half of roll.
5. Raw burgers freeze well.

Reviews

[Noo]

This was a really tasty burger! Next time I would add a few chilli flakes ( we are heat junkies!).Loved the fresh mozzarella. A good recipe,thanks for sharing.

[Sam #3]

Used regular sausage, a mild Italian and honey garlic mixture. We added garlic since we're big garlic lovers here. Love the addition of fennel, but they didn't have the bite that homemade burgers usually have. Found the regular sausage very fatty so will look harder for the turkey sausage next time and add some more spices.

[Chef Busydaddy]

Great taste! Went to 3 different Italian markets and my regular big box grocery store but couldn't find "turkey" sausage or "ground' fennel so substituted Italian sausage and ground the seeds on my own. Pain in the rear, but an excellent meal!