Seriously Good Turkey Burgers
- PREP
These easy healthy turkey burgers have become one of our favorite things to make. Since it’s just the two us, we make a whole batch and save two burgers for later in the week. Lean ground turkey can be a bit bland. To combat this, we call on mushrooms! By stirring cooked chopped mushrooms into the burger mixture, we add lots of umami and flavor. The magic of the mushrooms doesn’t stop there. They also help keep the turkey burgers juicy and moist. If you are not a mushroom fan, don’t worry you don’t really taste them. Instead they make the burger taste more meaty.
You Will Need
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup, see our homemade ketchup recipe
1 pound lean ground turkey, 93% lean preferred
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the mushrooms, a 1/4-teaspoon of salt, and a 1/4-teaspoon of pepper. Cook until the mushrooms give off their liquid and it boils away; about 10 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook about 1 minute or until fragrant. Remove the skillet from the heat then stir in the fish sauce (or Worcestershire sauce) and the ketchup. Set aside until warm, not hot.
Gently mix the mushroom and garlic mixture into the ground turkey. The mixture might be a bit sticky. To test the seasoning, heat a pan over medium heat and add a tablespoon of the burger mixture. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, flipping once, until thoroughly cooked through. Taste the mini patty. If it seems under seasoned, you can sprinkle a little salt on the turkey burger patties just before cooking them.
Form the turkey mixture into four patties (or more for smaller burgers). Work quickly and with a light touch. If you feel they need it, season lightly on both sides.
Heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil in a wide non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the burgers then cook 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until an internal thermometer reads 165 degrees F when inserted into the middle of a patty. Transfer to a plate and let rest, lightly covered with foil, for 5 minutes. Serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Mushrooms: Any kind of mushroom will work here. We usually add one or more of the following: white button, cremini or baby bella, shiitake and portobello mushrooms.
- Food processor: To quickly chop the mushrooms or to make them extra small, use a food processor.
- Serving: We love these turkey burgers served with salad or on top of an English muffin with sliced tomato, avocado and lettuce.
- Freezing the burgers for a make-ahead meal: You can freeze these uncooked and cooked. To freeze uncooked patties, prepare them as directed then individually wrap each patty. Freeze. To serve, thaw the burgers then cook as directed. To freeze cooked patties, prepare and cook them as directed then line up on a baking sheet. Slide the baking sheet into the freezer and freeze until partially frozen, about 30 minutes. Wrap them with plastic wrap (place a piece of wax paper if wrapping multiple patties together) then store in the freezer. To serve, reheat in the microwave or oven.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. In the calculations below we assumed 93% lean ground turkey and no bun.
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