I have a couple of friends and family members that swear by using ground turkey instead of ground hamburger. The benefits being less calories and a leaner meat. This week, Bethany and I wanted to give turkey burgers a try. The result was great--tasty and healthy-- but we made sure to do our research first.
As a meat eater but meat skeptic, I will always recommend that you buy organic, hormone-free, local, and/or free-range meats... this applies to ground turkey as well (it's simple, think about you and think about the animals). I will spare you the horror stories and assume that you know it is worth the extra cost. If you are on a budget I urge you to go vegetarian a few nights a week in order to feed yourself quality meat.
Because turkey is leaner than beef you need to grill it over a smaller, less intense flame and make sure that it is cooked through to avoid bacteria resonating in the meat. Because it is a leaner meat you might also want to include more spice to the mixture and a sauce while grilling to avoid dry burgers devoid of flavor. We added cilantro, celery, and sauce to our patties and then basted the patties with the same sweet barbecue sauce while grilling to round out a delicious, good-for-you burger. Throw on some sauted peppers and onions with a layer of mild gouda, pair with my mom's favorite green potato salad, and you have one outrageously tasty meal.
BBQ Turkey Burger
1 lb of ground turkey2 stalks of celery, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small, yellow onion, sliced
1 small orange pepper, sliced
1 Tbls olive oil
4 palm size slices of gouda cheese
4 sesame buns
Butter to taste
In a large bowl combine turkey, celery, cilantro, 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce, and pepper to taste. Mix with a large spoon or spatula. Form into four patties, cover, and refrigerate for at least a half an hour.
While the burgers are cooling you can prep your onion and peppers by slicing them into bite-size strips. Saute them over medium-high heat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Cover or keep warm on low until burgers are cooked.
Lightly salt each burger. Over a medium-high grill, cook burgers 4-5 minutes on each side. After flipping the burgers, lightly coat each patty with the remaining 1/4 cup of barbecue sauce. With two minutes left to cook, add a generous amount of sauted onions and peppers and top with gouda cheese. Arrange buttered buns on the edge of the grill to be toasted. Cover the grill and cook for the remaining 2 minutes.
Carefully remove the burgers and assemble with the buns. Serve immediately with a side of extra barbecue sauce.
Yields 4 burgers.
Linda's Favorite Green Potato Salad
2 lbs small new potatoes, quartered1 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup cilantro leaves
3 green onions, white and light green portions chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add new potatoes and cook for 20-30 minutes or until the quartered pieces are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set potatoes aside to cool to room temperature.
In a food processor combine mayonnaise, cilantro, green onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until the dressing is smooth and a light green color through out.
Lightly fold the dressing over the potatoes with a rubber spatula, adding the dressing a little at a time as not to "over-dress" the potatoes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and for up to 4 days.
Grocery List
2 lbs new potatoes
cilantro
green onions
garlic
celery
yellow onion
orange pepper
1 lb ground turkey
mayonnaise
barbecue sauce
sesame buns
gouda cheese
Estimated grocery bill... $27
Keep in mind...
you will most likely have mayo on hand and you will have left over veggies, barbecue sauce, buns, and cheese. You can splurge on the gouda or you can buy a cheaper version from a chain dairy company.
Average cost per plate... $5.00
Try this meal with a... glass of Pinot Grigio.
Bethany and I bought a bottle of Woodbridge Pinot Grigio to go with our turkey burgers and the cool, crisp taste was perfect with the sweet barbecue and peppers. Woodbridge is also an affordable bottle which is great for a twenty-something's pocket book. Heck, this burger would make a bottle of 3 buck chuck from Trader Joe's taste amazing.
Much love and grilling,
Whit
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