A tasty alternative to beef
If you feel like a hamburger and want to change things up a bit, you might want to check out this recipe for turkey burgers. Ground turkey is a a good alternative to ground beef, but it needs a little help in the flavour department. It can be a little bland on its own. I like to dress it up when I’m making the mix with sriracha, dijon mustard, salt, pepper and parsley. You don’t have to get carried away, after all we’re not making meatloaf.
Grilling over charcoal or propane
Grilling over charcoal is ideal, you get that crispy bark with a juicy interior. Add some wood chips to the grill at the beginning of the cook and it’ll add that smoky flavour that we’re all looking for. Bourbon soaked oak is our wood chip of choice. It isn’t really necessary to keep adding wood chips though. Ground turkey is like a sponge and you can actually over smoke it.
If you’re using a propane grill a smoking box is ideal. Soak some wood chips in water for half an hour or more. You really only need enough to smoke for about ten to fifteen minutes of the total cook. So probably around a cup of wood chips will do. If you don’t have a smoking box, wrap the soaked wood chips in a foil packet leaving it open at the top. You can wrap the chips and poke some holes in the foil. Place the packet under the grate near a burner before lighting the grill. By the time the grill is at temperature you’ll start to see smoke. Unlike cooking in a smoker, in this case you’re only adding smoke to the meat for additional flavour.
Pan frying
Let’s not forget about the good old frying pan ’cause it’ll work in a pinch as well. A cast iron frying pan would be my preferred choice. Preheat the pan with 1-2 tbsps of canola oil and simply fry them flipping over when they’ve browned and released from the pan. Resist the urge to shift them around in the pan. You’ll get better bark if they stay put.
What temperature are they cooked?
Whether grilling or frying the burgers, cook until the interior temperature is 165℉ or 74℃.
Turkey Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 tbsp red onion minced
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1½ tbsp sriracha
- 1 tsp fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 5 tbsp bread crumbs
Instructions
- In a large bowl beat the egg. Add dijon mustard, sriracha, parsley, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined and add the mix to the ground turkey
- Add the bread crumbs to the turkey mixture, combine without overworking.
- Form into 4 patties.
- Grill over medium heat. Flip when the underside is carmelized and cook until the interior temperature is 165℉.
Very little shrinkage!
If you’re using lean ground, one of the best things is the lack of shrinkage. When you form that burger, its gonna be pretty much the same size when you pull it off the grill. The burger may be a bit denser than its beef counterpart but I don’t really have an issue with that.
If you’re making burgers, you’ve gotta try these fries!
