American’s love their burgers.  McDonald’s wouldn’t have gotten to “over a billion served” if that wasn’t the case.  That’s a lot of beef!  I decided to explore a lighter option for burgers – Turkey. 

Turkey has less saturated fat over all than beef and it’s possible to make a lean, moist burger with minimal fuss on the grill.  Choose a lean ground turkey, I used 97% fat-free ground turkey.  You may be thinking, with the turkey so lean, the burger will be dry, that is so not the case! 

First, the lineup.

Next, squirt about a tablespoon ginger paste in the bowl, a few splashes of soy sauce (about a teaspoon or less), one egg, and about a cup of panko breadcrumbs.  The egg and the breadcrumbs will help bind the burgers together – turkey can be a little fragile and with all the extra moisture you need a binder.  The ginger and soy sauce go really well with the carrot flavor. I choose a low sodium soy sauce and don’t use any other salt in the recipe.

 

A note on Ginger – It’s long been used to help calm upset stomachs.  Some even think it may help with inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.  And it tastes good!

 

Next, with your very clean hands, mix it all together and patty it up.  I made about four good-sized burgers with this batch.  I also found a no mess way to plate the raw burgers.  Put cling wrap on a plate, spray it down with cooking spray (liberally), put the burgers on the wrap, spray those down with cooking spray, then cover with more wrap.  This gets the spray on both sides of the burger and will prevent the meat from sticking to the grill. 

 

 

 

Next, fire up the grill to about medium-high.  When it’s good and hot, plop those burgers down, cover and let ’em cook for about 7 minutes.  Don’t mess with them.  The burgers have to cook enough to release from the grill or you’ll make a mess.  Then flip and continue cooking about 5-7 more minutes. 

  

If you’re grill goes out (like mine did) you can always finish in the microwave…they held up just fine…and still didn’t dry out.  I bring this up because this is turkey people, you can’t eat it rare.  Use a thermometer and make sure it gets up to 165 degrees.

 

Serve with…

 

And don’t forget a  healthy side…I choose grilled yellow squash, zucchini, potatoes, and cherry tomatoes…

 

A Very yummy, juicy, filling, healthy Turkey Burger!

 

 

 

Recipe:

Carrot-Ginger Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey (97% fat-free)

1/2 granny smith apple, shredded

2 carrots, shredded

1 tablespoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce

1 egg

1 cup panko bread crumbs

 

Garnish:

Tomato, sliced

avocado, sliced

Fancy lettuce leaves

 

1. Shred the apple and carrots and mix with ginger, soy sauce, egg, bread crumbs and turkey. 

2. Mix will and divide into 4 patties.  Place on cling wrap sprayed with cooking spray and coat with cooking spray on top to prevent from sticking to grill.

3.  Grill over medium high for 7 minutes, flip grill 5-7 minutes longer (be sure to check with thermometer)

4.  Serve on rolls with garnishes.