Fish Sauce and Honey Basted Turkey and Pancetta Burgers

If you know fish sauce, you know it’s a flavor bomb. The name of this burger might scare you if you’ve never cooked with fish sauce, but trust me, it will not taste like fish, it will just be full of flavor. The fish sauce brings out the flavor of the pancetta and they compliment each other beautifully, so don’t skip that step. Because the Turkey has a bit of the fish sauce mixture in it, which has honey, the burgers will darken quicker than usual so monitor and adjust the heat so they don’t burn.
This recipe is dedicated to my sister Shannon who was a chef who loved to use fish sauce. She used it in almost everything she made, so this burger was inspired by her.

Recipe by Tierney Larson

Inspired by my sister, and a recipe I heard about on the Milk Street podcast

Ingredients:

4oz pancetta

1/4 cup of fish sauce

1 tbl honey

2 tsp fresh lime juice

1/2 tbl mirin cooking wine

A pinch of white pepper

2 tbl canola oil, plus more for cooking the burgers

1/4 cup scallions (about half a bunch) whites and greens finely sliced and separated

2 tsp grated ginger, divided

2 tsp grated garlic (about 4 cloves) divided

1 pound ground turkey

1 egg

1 cup of panko

1/4 cup of whole milk

3/4 tsp kosher salt

Ok so…spread the pancetta out onto a small sheet pan and place in the freezer. After 10-15 minutes, it will be easier to finely mince with a knife or in a food processor. Mince or process until the pieces are about the size of a pea or a little smaller. Place into a large bowl and set aside.
In a small bowl whisk together the fish sauce, honey, lime juice, mirin and a pinch of white pepper.

In a small sauté pan, heat 2 tbl of canola oil over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add half the garlic, half the ginger and the white parts of the scallions. Stir and season lightly with kosher salt and a pinch of white pepper. Stir frequently for about a minute until fragrant and then pour into a small bowl, leaving as much of the oil behind as you can. Set aside to let cool.
To the bowl with the pancetta, add the ground turkey, 1 tbl of the fish sauce mixture you made, the panko, egg, milk and cooled scallion mixture. Also add the greens of the scallions 3/4 tsp of kosher salt and a few grinds of white pepper. Mix until combined.

Add the remaining garlic and ginger to the fish sauce mixture now and set aside for glazing the burgers.

In a large sauté pan, heat about 2 tbl of canola oil over medium high heat. Form the meat mixture into burger patties about 1 inch thick, and 3-4 inches in diameter.
Place the formed patties, as many as you can fit without crowding the pan, into the hot shimmering oil and cover with a piece of foil to help them cook through faster. Cook on the first side until golden brown on the first side, then flip and continue to cook until they’re almost fully cooked, adjusting the heat if necessary so they don’t burn, get them to around 145F internal temperature. Then begin glazing the burgers with the fish sauce mixture on the top. Give them another flip and glaze the other side. Continue to flip and glaze until cooked fully to 160F. Serve with greens on a soft brioche bun.