Using ground turkey can be a challenge as it can very easily dry out during the cooking process and due to the low fat content it really needs help in the seasoning department. We’ve been blessed with our herbal garden - with an abundance of various herbs we need to start using. We decided to use this recipe created by Elise at Simple Recipes.
What strikes me as odd when I make turkey burgers as opposed to ground beef burgers is how different I treat them. With ground beef, I simply use sea salt and freshly ground pepper. That’s it. That’s all I believe a burger needs. But with the turkey burgers, they need a little (or maybe a lot of) help. The ample fresh herbs used in this recipe provide an burger with amazing taste.
One of these, some salads on the side, and a glass of cool, crisp, rose was all I needed to toast the work week good bye!
Herbed Turkey Burger
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, minced
4 minced garlic cloves
2 pounds ground turkey meat, preferably from the legs and thighs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup loosely packed chopped parsley
1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp minced fresh sage
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Sauté the chopped onion in olive oil for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes, or until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat. Transfer the onions, garlic, and oil to a large bowl to cool down.
Once the onions are cool to the touch, add the ground turkey, salt, pepper, and herbs into the bowl. Using your hands, gently mix everything until well combined. You want the herbs mixed in without overworking the meat (which would make the burgers tough).
Form the meat into patties. Here's a burger patty tip: use your fingers to form a slight indentation in the middle of the patties. When burger patties cook, the meat contracts from the edges. Having the middle part slightly thinner than the edges when raw will help the patties finish with a more even shape (less bulge in the middle).
Cook on a hot grill or in a hot cast iron frying pan for 5-6 minutes per side, until cooked through (165°F if using a meat thermometer). If using a grill, coat the grill grates first with a little vegetable oil. If using a frying pan, put a little oil in the pan first to help keep the burgers from sticking. A trick my mother uses when making burgers in a cast iron frying pan is to sprinkle the bottom of the pan with a little salt. The salt acts sort of like ball-bearings, keeping the patties from sticking when you go to flip them.
Serve with toasted buns, and the accompaniments of your choice—sliced onions, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, bacon, mayonnaise (especially good with mayo), mustard, relish, ketchup.
Makes 8 turkey burgers.
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