Let’s talk about Moist Turkey Burgers. Turkey burgers are a healthy adaptation from a normal beef burger.
Just because these Moist Turkey Burgers are healthier doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor. There are a few things to note when buying a ground turkey. Ground turkey comes in different fat-to-meat ratios. The turkey I used for this recipe was 93% meat, 7% fat or extra lean.
This is the healthiest form of ground turkey available in terms of calories. There are also lean and regular ground turkeys available. These two varieties do not save you many calories in comparison to ground beef.
If you aren’t willing to fork out the extra couple of dollars for the extra lean ground turkey ( no judgment here, I’m cheap), just use ground beef for the recipe. You may notice that there are no breadcrumbs in this Moist Turkey Burgers recipe. The recipe as follows is a Paleo recipe.
However, feel free to add 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs if you need to help hold your patties together, and the Paleo aspect is of no concern.
The Perfect Moist Turkey Burgers Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 small red onion minced
- 1 medium bell pepper minced
- 1 medium egg
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- ½ tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- We are going to start by melting our butter in a saute pan. Once the butter is melted, and the pan is hot, add the red onion and bell pepper. We are looking to soften them, so they do not remain crunchy inside our burger. Once they are softened, put them aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, egg, spices, and the cooled onion/pepper mix. To mix together, you must use your hands. If you use a spoon, you will most likely overwork your meat. I can hear it now, “You want me to touch that with my hands? Gross!” We must not overwork our meat. We do not want to eat hockey pucks for dinner.
- After your meat and spices are evenly combined, grab a handful of meat. Roll the meat into a ball in between your hands, then flatten it into a patty shape. It is important to remember when forming your patties that they will shrink in size, so make them slightly larger than your desired end result.
- The next step for your patty is to press a little divot in the middle of the patty. This allows your patty to cook more evenly instead of being dry on the outside edges and raw on the inside.
- Depending on the size of your burgers, they should take about 7-8 minutes per side to cook through. It is crucial for you to cook your turkey burger to 165°F or all the way through. Ground turkey is not meat you can eat rare or medium, only well-done. That being said, don’t cook it so long that you make it dry. A well-done turkey burger will have a moist, juicy inside with a nice charred outside. If you feel like you are chewing rubber, you committed meat murder, and the turkey burger police will arrive at your house shortly.
