Turkey meat is interesting. Without question, it is healthier than ground beef, so I try to use it instead of beef most of the time. For many things (chili, spaghetti meat sauce, lasagna,etc.) it works and my guys happily eat it up. Really, the only place that I find it doesn’t work as well as beef is in meatloaf. To date, I still have not tasted a turkey meatloaf that I like as much as a beef one. Anyway, my kids (like most kids) love burgers. Fortunately, they love my homemade turkey burgers as much as beef burgers. “You make the BEST burgers ev-ah!” Sean likes to exclaim. I have my dear friend Jeni to thank for that. When I was pregnant with Michael, Reggie and I were visiting her and her husband Norman’s upstate New York cabin with a group of friends. We were preparing meat for the grill and I noticed that she put ketchup and mustard in with the meat before cooking it. The burgers came out so moist and flavorful that I have been preparing my burgers (beef and turkey) like that since that day! (Thanks Jeni! Not only do you sing like an angel, you cook like one also!)
*These would also be the best homemade beef burgers, except for the fact that my friend Ray made the most amazing burger one time! He claims that he just added Adobo, but I have cooked burgers with adobo seasoning before and they never came out tasting that delicious. He was using an outdoor grill when he prepared those burgers though so perhaps that was the difference…
THE BEST HOMEMADE TURKEY BURGERS
Yield: 5 -6 burgers
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground turkey meat
- 1 tsp ketchup
- 1 tsp mustard
- ½ packet dry onion soup mix
- Seasoned salt and black pepper to taste
Cooking Instructions
1. Preheat your grill or frying pan.
2. Thoroughly mix the meat, ketchup, mustard, onion soup mix, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
3. Form 5 – 6 burger patties with the mixture. The size of the patties will vary based on your diners. (I make larger burgers for my husband Reggie and smaller ones for my 4 year old Sean.)
4. Cook the burgers until they are cooked to your preference. (Personally, I like my burgers well done. It takes 5 minutes on my grill for them to be completely cooked.) Be certain that you cook the turkey meat until it is at least 165 degrees for safety reasons.
Recipe Notes:
– You can add a little more mustard and ketchup if you like your burgers to be extra moist. Be careful not to add too much though, because the burgers will crumble and fall apart if you add too much!