In search of a moist, juicy and flavorful turkey burger

So you decide to lighten things up a bit in your bodies diet department.  Ah ha! You say, reaching for a chub of ground turkey.  You will make a delicious healthy turkey burger tonight that will be lower in calories, fats and a great deal lower in cholesterol.  You excitedly add the same spices that you would if it were ground beef.  You fire up the barbecue grill throw on the patty and before you know it, your excitement goes up in smoke with the first bite of the dry, not very flavorful turkey hockey puck. 

Ground turkey is a good healthy substitution for ground beef in many ways.  Two of my common substitutes are in Lasagna and Tacos.  In these dishes you really don't have to be concerned about dryness or lack of flavor because of all the additional ingredients being added to the turkey meat.  The rules change for ground turkey burgers though, it took me a bit of experimenting till I had success...

I have only made this recipe on my outside barbecue grill which I have situated outside of our kitchens back door for convenience and necessity in 10 degree weather.  You can opt to cook on indoor grills or in an open skillet if your barbecue is not easily accessible on a whim as mine is, but you might have to cook it a bit longer.  This is the difference between cooking a burger made of beef versus turkey...for health reasons, you can't consume a medium rare turkey burger...so proper cooking time is more than imperative.

Robert's Juicy Smokey Turkey Burger

1 lb of ground turkey meat

1 tbsp smoked paprika

One red onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp tamari soy sauce

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp liquid smoke

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp seasoning salt

In a saute pan, cook the onion with a small amount of olive oil till very limp and just beginning to brown

Remove from pan and allow to cool for ten minutes

In a large bowl, add 3/4 of the cooked onion to the meat along with the smoked paprika, the tamari soy sauce, the worcestershire, the liquid smoke and the seasoning salt and pepper

Mix well and form into four patties, make a depression into the center of each patty with your thumb so that the burger will come out nice and flat when grilled

Place formed patties between sheets of parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes

 Using high heat on your gas grill, cook the patties with lid closed for 6 minutes per side

Serve topped with the remainder of the sauteed onion and whatever other garnishes your heart and stomach desire.

That's it.  I have consistent success with this recipe.   It truly comes out moist, juicy and smokey flavored.  I have found  that crumbled blue cheese really complements the smokiness. 

I do realize that barbecue's do vary in heat output, so if you have a wimpy grill, a bit more time may be necessary.

Good gobbling to you!

robert