Turkey Burgers

Tonight’s post is about turkey burgers. I’ve never made them before (mostly because I never had a grill or grill pan before and I like grill marks), but I’ll certainly be making them a lot more often now. These burgers were delicious. They’re slightly spicy (though not overly so—just a curious “kick” to the tastebuds), well-seasoned, thick, and a great substitute for regular beef burgers. They’re actually good for you and they’re SUPER easy!

This recipe was inspired by several different ones I found online, but I sort of took inspiration from them all and tailored it for me. This is the kind of dish that’s really versatile so you can play with the spices and make it just for your tastes. I’m definitely going to do this again and maybe give them an Italian twist with some rosemary and topping them with marinara and mozzarella, or you could go Mediterranean or Mexican…whatever you like.

Find out how to do it after the jump!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. (16 oz.) lean ground turkey (Perdue Fit & Easy is 99% fat-free and fantastic)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce (use light or low-sodium if you can find it)
• Hamburger buns (I use Healthy Life wheat sandwich buns, they’re low-calorie, low-fat, etc. and they’re great)
• Toppings of your choice
• Olive oil or non-stick cooking spray for grill

1. Start heating up your olive oil and/or non-stick cooking spray in your pan. I used a light coat of spray and then a dollop of olive oil (for the extra flavor) that I brushed around the pan with a pastry brush. I used a cast-iron grill pan that tends to burn the heck out of anything if it gets too hot, so I started it on low heat. If you’re using a regular pan, I’d say you should start it on medium heat and play it by ear from there.
2. Put your meat in a work bowl. Break it up and tear it apart a little.
3. Pour in your garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and black pepper.
4. Mix it all up with your hands, then form it into a mound.
5. Score the mound into four equal parts, then break it apart along the scores and form the meat into four 1/2” patties.
6. Cook the patties for about 3 - 7 minutes on each side (depending on the heat of your pan) in your pan until they reach 180 degrees in the thickest part of the meat. Because these are turkey, not beef, you really do have to get to the recommended level of doneness. You don’t want pink in the middle of a turkey burger. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, make sure you don’t see any pink on the outside of the patty and check the middle of one patty before serving to make sure they’re done.
7. Serve on toasted or warmed buns with your desired toppings.

Look at that, four main ingredients for the patties!  That’s the best kind of recipe.

This is what raw ground turkey looks like. Shockingly unappetizing. It’s kind of fun to mix with your hands though, I won’t lie.

Throw in your spices. Super simple. Again, you can mix it up with whatever you like here. You could use fresh herbs or dried ones, as well as spices…you could even throw in fresh veggies like onions and peppers…give it your best shot!

Mix it up thoroughly with your hands so you can see flecks of your spices running all the way through.

Form it into a nice big patty and then score it into fourths. I just used a spatula for this.

Now comes the fun part: forming the patties. Just squash the quarters of meat with your hands into a patty-like formation. Try to get them a little bigger than your buns, as they’ll shrink a little when cooked.

Tip for making hamburger patties: Make them raised around the sides with a slight dip in the middle. This will prevent them from puffing up in the center when cooked and encourage more even cooking.

See the slight dips in the center? That’s what you want. Now, we only had three people for dinner, so I froze the extra patty. You can freeze pre-seasoned patties for about a month, then just cook them up when you’re ready. Convenient, no?

Now cook ‘em! Grill pans are awesome, but you can use a regular pan or a real grill. I can’t give you any tips on real grilling though because I’ve never done it. It scares me. Let them cook for a couple minutes, then flip.

When you flip them, brush the top (cooked side) with teriyaki sauce. Let them cook for another couple minutes then flip again.

Brush the other side with teriyaki sauce. If you’re adding cheese, this would be the time to slap it on.

Just let the cheese get all melty, and if the temperature of the patties is 180 F, you’re good to go! Place on some toasted buns, top with condiments, veggies, etc. and serve.

These burgers were really tasty. I’m definitely going to be doing this again very soon and just experimenting with seasoning. Here’s the nutrition facts I calculated (remember, if you use any substitutions, these will not apply. I recommend using this site if you want to calculate for yourself):

NUTRITION FACTS

These are for the patties only. Add on the nutritional information for the bun and condiments you use.

Serving size: 1 patty (1/4th recipe)

Calories: 159
Fat: 1.3g
Saturated Fat: 0.0g
Cholesterol: 66.7mg
Protein: 34.1g
Sodium: 663.8mg
Carbohydrate: 2.1g
Fiber: 0.2g
Sugar: 1.3g