Turkey burgers often do not get the same respect and appreciation as their ground beef counterpart. This, actually, is quite understandable, since the typical turkey burger does not offer any real excitement or fun. Owing to the leanness of white turkey meat, it dries out quite quickly and easily, and does not deliver a great deal in terms of taste or flavor. However, if you go for a few unconventional ingredients, you can take your grilled turkey burgers to a whole other level.
Some people are also often confused as to how long to cook Turkey burgers on grill. The answer is – 10 to 15 minutes, applying medium direct heat.
In this blog, we will discuss an exciting recipe that will make sure that your turkey burger gives the more conventional burger options a real run for their money. Other than that, you will also get to know a few tips and best practices for grilling burger patties.
Grilling a Turkey Burger – Ingredients:
- 2 grated and peeled apples
- 3lbs of turkey breast (grounded)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of hot sauce
- ½ teaspoon of pepper
- ¼ cup of Mango chutney
- 6 split hamburger buns
- 6 provolone cheese slices (optional)
- 6 tomato slices (optional)
- 6 lettuce pieces (optional)
Instructions:
Step 1:
Preheat your grill to prepare for direct cooking using medium heat (around 330-450 degrees Fahrenheit)
Step 2:
Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Shape the mixture into 6 burgers (8-oz each)
Step 3:
Using medium direct heat, grill your turkey burgers for around 10 to 15 minutes, and make sure to keep the lid closed for as long as possible. Flip your burgers once, when you are around halfway through the cooking process.
Step 4:
When in the final minute of cooking, insert a slice of your preferred cheese type with the burger still on the grill.
Step 5:
Keep cooking until the internal burger temperature goes up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 6:
Serve the burgers; you can add tomatoes, lettuces, mango chutney, or some Dijon mustard.
Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Grilling Burgers:
1) Always go for Ground Beef:
If you are grilling steak, the best approach is to allow the meat to come to room temperature. However, the rules are different when it comes to grilled burger patties; you should always use meat that has been brought straight out from the fridge. By cooking cold meat, your burger is able to develop a delightful crust, while the center of the meat is better able to achieve the medium-rare that you are aiming for.
2) Mix with Butter:
Make sure that you mix using butter, and avoid seasonings for this purpose, although we understand that it is quite common for beef patties to be full of herbs, onions, and sometimes even eggs. However, it is important to remember that we want to make a burger and not a meatloaf. Mixing in butter increases the amount of fat and moisture. As far as the right quantity of butter goes, a rule of thumb is to a stick of unsalted, cold butter for every 1.5 pounds of beef. Make sure that you use a box grater to grate the butter.
3) Avoid Overworking the Meat:
Seeing how roughly some people treat the ground beef, you might think that they have a personal score to settle with it. When preparing a grilled burger, the less the meat is (man) handled, the better it is. Only mix the meat for as long as is required to create the perfect-shaped patty; this is best achieved by tossing the meat between your two hands, and flattening the patties until they are just less than one inch in thickness. Once this is achieved, use your finger to create an impression in the middle of each patty – this will ensure that the patties do not break down during cooking.
4) Season Generously:
Avoid salting the burgers before they have turned into patties – doing so will lead to the dissolving of the muscle proteins, causing the patty to have a more sausage-like texture. Instead, use pepper and salt to season generously and evenly, just before heading towards the grill. Sprinkle the salt from a height of around six to seven inches, and always use more salt than you feel is required. Butter and salt has a lot to do with why restaurant foods almost always taste better than home cooked meals.
5) Make sure that the Grill is Clean:
Cooking in a less-than-clean grill is a common but major rookie mistake. If the grill bars are stuffed with crusty residues from your last barbeque party, the heat between the food and the flames will be restricted. Hence, it is always a good idea to scrub your grill with some elbow grease, before using it again. You could use a half onion on a meat fork. However, if the grill is extremely gritty, it might be time for you to unpack that stainless steel-bristled brush.
6) Avoid Flare-ups:
The butter fat might lead to flare-ups and, as cool as you might come across while cooking around fire flames, you can rest assured that your burgers will hardly be impressed. Cooking in flames means that the burgers will have a charcoal-like, acrid flavor – something that you would rather avoid if you want to impress your friends and family with your grilling prowess. So, in case of flare-ups, we strongly recommend shifting the burgers to a source where the heat is less direct.
7) Do Not Delay the Serving:
Since ground meat (and not intact muscle) has been used to prepare the burgers, it will not take much time for the juices to run out. This will result in a burger that is excessively dry and devoid of flavor. So, make sure that you do not waste much time in placing the patties on buns and tucking right in.
Our Final Thoughts:
To sum up, a turkey burger is considered juice-less and flavorless, but that need not always be the case. Using the ingredients, instructions, and grilling tips discussed in this blog, we are confident that you will be able to change your and your loved-ones’ perceptions about grilled turkey burgers for the better.
