topic Turkey burgers in Recipes

Turkey burgers

Gerry S — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 15:43:38 GMT

Does anyone have a recipe for making ground turkey into a tasty moist burger? They usually come out tasteless any dry.

Re: Turkey burgers

Poodlepet2 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 15:53:57 GMT

I have yet to figure out the dryness issue. I have tried adding fresh chopped spinach and chopped sun dried tomatoes ( oil rinsed off).....not bad, but decidedly changes the flavor. Turkey meat is dry- and to me, it always has a slightly funny taste. I have found to get rid of that taste, a pinch of Greek seasoning is what's needed. My husband loves turkey burgers and just takes meat, patties it and cooks it. I think the next time I make it, I will use the Greek seasoning, but I am also going to use a little finely chopped Granny Smith apple. I put Granny Smith apples in my stuffing all of the time: you don't taste the Apple, but you get a lovely robustness. I don't see why it work with ground turkey. Are you open to using some kind of binder such as egg? Maybe a little panko? Poodlepet2

Re: Turkey burgers

Campion — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 16:04:15 GMT

One secret is to find a source of ground DARK MEAT turkey. If you cannot, buy turkey thighs, and take the meat off the bone (not difficult, as turkey thighs are big. Pull off the skin, zip down the bone with a boning knife and done. You don't have to be tidy.)

Grind the turkey in a food processor.

I make sliders with DARK MEAT turkey and they are so good, I have trouble not to eat more than one or two. (The bread is the issue--I use small potato rolls and pull out some of the inner soft crumb to reduce the amount of bread.) I simply make them into thickish slider patties and saute them in a frying pan, turn once, cover and cook on low-med until done. Some salt, then ketchup and a pickle on the roll. Heaven.

I think commercial ground turkey is not good quality. I get ground turkey (either white or dark) at our poultry store and it's superior to the Jennie-O.

Another thing you can do with dark turkey is make breakfast sausage. Buy some Penzey's sausage seasoning (which can double as poultry seasoning) and mix it to taste with dark turkey. Fry as normal patty sausage. (By the way, you test the seasoning by frying a pea sized amount and tasting it for sufficient seasoning.)

Dark turkey without the skin is lower in fat than pork and has a lot of good Omega-3. You can even find boneless turkey thigh sometimes, but boning it is not that bad.

This makes ALL the difference, as white turkey meat doesn't work for this--too dry. I've tried.

Re: Turkey burgers

Poodlepet2 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 16:49:38 GMT

Campion, now that I have a new set of knives, I will try your idea of using turkey legs. I make ground chicken all the time and I agree: homemade is superior.. Turkey legs were always challenging for me because of the ligaments, but I shall fear no more!! I have a superb Victoronix boning knife- this will be a great chance for it to strut it's stuff!

Re: Turkey burgers

Tinkrbl44 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:13:06 GMT

It's my experience that the best way to eat turkey burgers is with a nice dollop of guacamole on it .... the healthy fat of the avocado compliments the lean turkey meat and makes for a very balanced taste.

Re: Turkey burgers

2zbeach — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:27:29 GMT

I add an egg,about a tablespoon of minced onion and garlic powder plus ½ cup of crushed snack food ( cheezit crackers,doritos,etc). Sometimes I add red pepper flakes to a pound of turkey. I fry them with a lid to keep them moist. Family likes them.

Re: Turkey burgers

Campion — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:28:53 GMT

On 1/4/2015 Poodlepet2 said: Campion, now that I have a new set of knives, I will try your idea of using turkey legs. I make ground chicken all the time and I agree: homemade is superior.. Turkey legs were always challenging for me because of the ligaments, but I shall fear no more!! I have a superb Victoronix boning knife- this will be a great chance for it to strut it's stuff!

I would be nervous about using all turkey LEGS vs thighs. Turkey legs have a lot of ligament and the older turkey legs have special bones called "sesamoid bones" which form in muscle as a sort of support. The meat of the legs is more gristly. However, you could mix leg meat and thigh meat.

Re: Turkey burgers

Poodlepet2 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:48:22 GMT

Campion, I will give it a try. Turkey legs are in abundance here in Florida: go to any theme park, and our will see people happily eating. They are easy to find in the grocery, but I don't remember ever seeing thighs. We do have an independent butcher in town- that might be my best bet.... Poodlepet2

Re: Turkey burgers

Sooner — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 17:56:52 GMT

I have a recipe for the PERFECT turkey burger! They taste amazing and we love them! You take some great quality very lean ground beef, make patties of your preferred size and cook them done! They are WONDERFUL!

I just don't see the point in turkey burgers. They often taste like turkey and have a sort of odd taste that the above suggestions are trying to cover up. I like ground turkey a lot and use it alone or in combination with ground beef for meatloaf, meatballs, chili, etc.

But when it comes to a burger, I'm not a fan of turkey. I mean unless you are eating burgers 3 times a week, heck get some good ground beef

The key is getting really lean, good quality beef and NOT the pre-ground stuff in the store. Grind it yourself in a KitchenAid mixer attachment if you have to, but get really great beef to start off with! Ground beef should have great flavor, be fresh and lean, and if cooked in a skillet should have to have a little oil in the pan. Water and lots of grease should NOT run out in the pan.

Re: Turkey burgers

Vamp — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:03:25 GMT

Sooner, I'm confused by the first sentence in your post. Do you mean "PERFECT burger"?

Re: Turkey burgers

wagirl — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:08:13 GMT

You need to ADD moisture to the turkey in the form of sour cream, either low fat or no fat, or yogurt and an egg along with the bread crumbs or whatever you use as a binder, and seasonings. The result will be kind of loose; than you form into a patty or balls and then put them in the freezer for a bit to firm up, then cook them. I do this all the time and they turn out really good and not dry. You can shred up other things like onions, mushrooms, what ever, to help bind them, too and those things will add moisture as well.

Re: Turkey burgers

nunya — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:13:12 GMT

I add Frank's Red Hot to the meat before making patties. Buffalo Turkey Burger...I guess.

My local grocery store grinds it fresh daily, it's never dry.

Re: Turkey burgers

Sooner — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:30:55 GMT

On 1/4/2015 Vamp said:
Sooner, I'm confused by the first sentence in your post. Do you mean "PERFECT burger"?

BEEF! BEEF makes the perfect burger. At least for us. I use a lot of ground turkey and chicken, but for burgers I find that no matter what I do, turkey often ends up in a grilled patty tasting like--well--Turkey! If I put in a lot of flavorings it tastes like something other than grilled meat, and you don't get the grilling caramelization and taste I associate with a burger. I want grilled meat taste and turkey is still, turkey.

So we gave up on the turkey burger, and when I want a burger, I'm out for beef. but we do use a lot of ground turkey for other things. I just don't want that poultry taste you sometimes get with turkey between two burger bun halves of bread.

Re: Turkey burgers

PinkyPetunia — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 18:41:42 GMT

Here's what I do for a package of ground turkey or chicken (about 1.25 pounds):

I use a small mincer/chopper for this--finely chop or process a small onion, one clove garlic and one egg. Add seasonings to the wet mixture. I add one tsp. Montreal Steak seasoning. Mix the wet mixture into the ground poultry also mixing in some breadcrumbs. I don't measure but it's about a cup. You want a moist finished product. It's a little tricky to form into burgers or meatballs but if you wet your hands it goes easier. Cook as desired. Hope you like this, I do and have been making it for years.

Re: Turkey burgers

Poodlepet2 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 19:11:11 GMT

Sooner, I could not agree more! Alas DH has gout and even the tiniest amount causes flare-ups.... I find it interesting that you are tasting that same wonky flavor that I do: Turkey is not my favorite, but I eat it.....when it comes to ground turkey, I am not a fan. Poodlepet2

Re: Turkey burgers

Sooner — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 19:22:38 GMT

On 1/4/2015 Poodlepet2 said: Sooner, I could not agree more! Alas DH has gout and even the tiniest amount causes flare-ups.... I find it interesting that you are tasting that same wonky flavor that I do: Turkey is not my favorite, but I eat it.....when it comes to ground turkey, I am not a fan. Poodlepet2

OH the poor baby! Tell him I am so sorry! How about pork? We've had some very good salmon burgers too!

And what is it about that taste? I guess maybe it is the turkey fat or something that we pick up on! I like turkey meat but that ground stuff often has that -- I don't know even how to describe the flavor!

Re: Turkey burgers

Danielle46 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 19:23:05 GMT

Even if beef is super lean its still not as healthy as Turkey. I eat a lot of turkey burgers. I don't even miss beef burgers. First of all, I don't buy the extra-extra lean/ zero fat. I buy the extra-lean which has about 8 grams of fat (which is still healthy). I season mine with garlic, salt, pepper - you can also use poultry seasoning. You can add some fat free/low sodium veggie broth to them. I make an avocado dressing out of fat free greek yogurt, add sliced tomato and sometimes sautéed or raw onion. Ground turkey is like a blank canvas and you can turn it into incredible things. I also make a meatloaf out of it and add: shredded red onion, shredded celery, shredded carrot, 2/3 cup of plain bread crumbs, 1/2 cup or fat free milk or veggie broth, salt, pepper and garlic. I top it with all different things (before cooking) such as tomato sauce or the standard meatloaf ketchup- mixed- with- mustard sauce. Everything comes out moist and delicious.

Re: Turkey burgers

tiny 2 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:17:45 GMT

On 1/4/2015 Sooner said:
I have a recipe for the PERFECT turkey burger! They taste amazing and we love them! You take some great quality very lean ground beef, make patties of your preferred size and cook them done! They are WONDERFUL!

I just don't see the point in turkey burgers. They often taste like turkey and have a sort of odd taste that the above suggestions are trying to cover up. I like ground turkey a lot and use it alone or in combination with ground beef for meatloaf, meatballs, chili, etc.

But when it comes to a burger, I'm not a fan of turkey. I mean unless you are eating burgers 3 times a week, heck get some good ground beef

The key is getting really lean, good quality beef and NOT the pre-ground stuff in the store. Grind it yourself in a KitchenAid mixer attachment if you have to, but get really great beef to start off with! Ground beef should have great flavor, be fresh and lean, and if cooked in a skillet should have to have a little oil in the pan. Water and lots of grease should NOT run out in the pan.

I agree. I tried for a couple of years to make a turkey burger that I liked. I never found a decent one so when I have a craving for a good burger I have the beef. They can't quite breed that gamey taste out of them. Roast turkey, turkey chili made with shredded roast turkey and turkey sandwiches are very tasty to me though.

Re: Turkey burgers

Danielle46 — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:54:53 GMT

On 1/4/2015 tiny 2 said:
On 1/4/2015 Sooner said:
I have a recipe for the PERFECT turkey burger! They taste amazing and we love them! You take some great quality very lean ground beef, make patties of your preferred size and cook them done! They are WONDERFUL!

I just don't see the point in turkey burgers. They often taste like turkey and have a sort of odd taste that the above suggestions are trying to cover up. I like ground turkey a lot and use it alone or in combination with ground beef for meatloaf, meatballs, chili, etc.

But when it comes to a burger, I'm not a fan of turkey. I mean unless you are eating burgers 3 times a week, heck get some good ground beef

The key is getting really lean, good quality beef and NOT the pre-ground stuff in the store. Grind it yourself in a KitchenAid mixer attachment if you have to, but get really great beef to start off with! Ground beef should have great flavor, be fresh and lean, and if cooked in a skillet should have to have a little oil in the pan. Water and lots of grease should NOT run out in the pan.

I agree. I tried for a couple of years to make a turkey burger that I liked. I never found a decent one so when I have a craving for a good burger I have the beef. They can't quite breed that gamey taste out of them. Roast turkey, turkey chili made with shredded roast turkey and turkey sandwiches are very tasty to me though.

Your correct, nothing replaces a great beef burger but I have to tell you that the turkey burgers that I make at home are never gamey tasting. I'm real turned off to the gamey taste and have had my share of gamey tasting turkey burgers when I eat out. I no longer order them. In addition, I can't eat left over chicken or turkey nor can I east turkey breast from the deli because I find them gamey tasting. I usually buy Purdue ground turkey and there is another brand (can't think of the name right now) but I buy both at either Hannefords, A & P or Stop & Shop. I cook them on a Le Creuset grill pan and even with no seasonings or added ingredients they do not taste gamey. I do find ground chicken to be gamey.

Re: Turkey burgers

Vamp — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 20:59:12 GMT

I agree, beef burgers can't be beat, but I'll eat a Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger before I'll eat a turkey burger. I don't have anything against turkey burgers, but I'm just not a fan.