A Healthier BBQ Sangwich

One of my absolute favorite things in life is good barbeque. This is not because I am from Kentucky. Contrary to popular belief, not all barbeque in the south is delicious. There’s not even such a thing as Kentucky barbeque. But I frequently get the “Oh of course you love barbeque you’re from Kentucky.” As far as I know there’s only one real place to get barbeque in Kentucky besides your own backyard and it’s not “Kentucky” barbeque really. However, as I’ve mentioned before, my brother in law and sister in law used to live in Austin, Texas and we used to visit every year. There IS such a thing as Texas barbeque. And frankly, it’s my favorite. I mentioned the delicious BBQ Sause from Rudy’s in a previous blog which is only one component to the fabulous barbeque at this place. They also serve the best brisket you’ve ever tasted. When you get this BBQ at Rudy’s they give it to you with a loaf or so of white bread. And I like mine with cole slaw. Typically I build a sangwich with all of the above ingredients! It’s my own little guilty pleasure although I really don’t feel that guilty since I have to truck it all the way to Texas to get it!

Nevertheless, I wanted to try to adapt the barbeque love to something that’s slightly healthier and logistically easier. So I started thinking hard about what flavors make up my favorite BBQ Sangwich. I’ll start with the protein. Ok, so brisket is not good for you. Especially my favorite type which is pretty fatty. But I could use ground turkey. So the tastes on the meat are typically onion (don’t ask me how or why), smoke (from a smoker if you do it right), and barbeque sauce. So to recreate the smoke flavor, I used liquid smoke. Now, I’m absolutely not going to replace the Rudy’s BBQ Sause…it’s too good and I wouldn’t be using much. Instead of creamy cole slaw, I used the Health Salad from my July 28, 2011 blog. However, my organics box had red cabbage in it this week, so I used that. There’s no real need to make it with green,  done and done. I did put it on bread, but used a whole wheat sandwich thin. Anyway, I didn’t want the bread to outweigh the taste of the turkey or the slaw, so I didn’t want much, but I wanted it to be a sangwich.

Here’s the breakdown for this creative BBQ Burger

1 lb ground turkey

*I used organic and would recommend it b/c of the texture you get which is surprisingly different from non organic

1 ½ Tbsp. dry minced onion

1 ½ Tbsp. Rudy’s BBQ Sause

*If you don’t have this, use your favorite sauce

1 Tbsp dry parsley

1 tsp. liquid smoke

1 tsp. dry ground mustard

Cajun seasoning

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a bowl and let sit all day or even overnight. I mixed it up right before I left for work. Patty out the turkey into burgers. Then spray them with olive oil spray. Turn your grill on high and let heat up for 15 minutes or so.

Then I sprinkled each side of the burger with Cajun seasoning. Now, I have a recipe for the rub that I use, but I’m not sure that it’s not a guarded Montgomery family secret. So until I know for sure, I can’t share. But the basic ingredients to look for in a seasoning you’ll want to use are brown sugar, cayenne pepper, pepper, & salt. Mine has a lot more to it, but if you Google a meat rub with those ingredients, I’m sure you’ll find something good. And maybe one day I’ll share the Montgomery Mix! Grill the burgers covered for about 5 minutes per side. The last thing you want is an underdone turkey burger! Ick! Brush on a little of the barbeque sauce on each side of the burger while on the grill. Then just stack up the sangwich accordingly. Bread, meat, health salad, bread.

So here’s the truth. This is not as good as brisket barbeque and creamy cole slaw. I didn’t think it would be. Fortunately it is yummy and does remind me of that sangwich. And it’s so much better for you! I really enjoyed it and who doesn’t love a good burger on the grill? Especially when it’s been winter for a million years and you’re ready for spring!

Cheers!