Juicy Turkey Burgers
A turkey burger may not be a substitute for a beef-based burger, but the editors of America's Test Kitchen tried to make one with as many beef burger qualities as possible. After trying different kinds of meat (white, dark, and blends), fillers (milk-soaked bread, beans, mushrooms) and flavorings (over 25 types), they came up with a winning recipe of lean ground turkey mixed with whole-milk ricotta cheese and flavored with Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. If they say it works, I believe them.
Juicy Turkey Burgers
- makes 4 servings -
Adapted from The Cook's Country Cookbook from the editors of America's Test Kitchen.
Ingredients
1 1/4 pounds 93-percent lean ground turkey
1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
Procedure
1. Combine the ground turkey, cheese, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard in a medium bowl until blended. Divide the meat into 4 portions. Lightly toss one portion from hand to hand to form a ball, then lightly flatten the ball with your fingertips into a 1-inch-thick patty. Repeat with the remaining portions.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet (preferably cast iron or stainless steel with an aluminum core) over medium heat until very hot. Swirl the oil in the pan to coat the bottom. Add the burgers and cook over medium heat without moving them until the bottom of each is dark brown and crusted, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the burgers over; continue to cook until the bottom is light brown but not yet crusted, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Reduce the heat to low, position the cover slightly ajar on the pan to allow steam to escape, and continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes longer, flipping once if necessary to promote deep browning, or until the center is completely opaque yet still juicy or an instant-read thermometer inserted from the side of the burger into the center registers 160 degrees. Remove from the pan and serve immediately.
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9 Comments:
While my faith in Cook's Illustrated is usually limitless and well placed, the turkey burger recipe is perhaps the only one that has let me down. I think it must be the strength of the Dijon flavor combined with the fluffiness that the ricotta adds to the ground turkey, but there's something both overwhelming and offputting about the mouthfeel of the finished product. The technique, however, of leaving the burgers untouched in the pan to form a crust on the bottom is really useful.
gildeddawn at 12:19PM on 10/11/08
While I dig the attempt to get something that's better for you to taste as good as you can, I can't help but feel that adding whole fat cheese to low fat ground turkey just defeats the purpose of using low fat ground turkey.
DaveFaris at 12:28PM on 10/11/08
I make this all the time and they are SOO good. They are moist and delicious and with a dollop of horseradish cream on them, they have a great bite. I use fresh whole milk ricotta from Whole Foods and that is much better than the stuff in the dairy rack at a supermarket.
kdjmom3 at 12:44PM on 10/11/08
I have made these -- not bad, but the other variant to the recipe is better: basically, you mix miso (tablespoon or two) with a little bit of water to thin INSTEAD of the ricotta and mustard and Worchestershire sauce, then mix with the turkey. Miso keeps a long time, ricotta doesn't! Meatier tasting than the ricotta version too, adding some umami to the turkey.
dulcey11 at 12:48PM on 10/11/08
I have also made this burger (and the miso-infused variation). It's OK, not up to the usual level of excellence I expect from CI. However, I recently made the recipe that Oprah Winfrey raved about on her show early this summer, and it was by far the best turkey burger I've ever made.
Here's the recipe:
http://www.oprah.com/recipe/food/recipessandwiches/20080516_tows_turkeyburger
Joy Manning at 1:51PM on 10/11/08
@Joy--that recipe looks good. I might just try it. I took issue with one thing though: could they have just said "2 Tbsp canola oil" instead of "1/8 cup canola oil?" Some poor novice cook is out there, searching the stores high and low for a 1/8 measuring cup, I just know it.
buffy at 6:32PM on 10/11/08
I've made this a couple of times, both in the pan and on the grill. I've used the fresh ricotta available from Trader Joe's, and when I grilled these last evening, found that the challah rolls I used on this occasion gave the illusion that the burgers were tough, when in fact, removal of the roll proved otherwise. I'll make them again.
Tonecat at 12:11PM on 10/12/08
I've never tried this recipe, but I appreciate they didn't go for an Asian-themed turkey burger, which I am not crazy about. I have a hard time eating anything with dominant wasabi & soy flavors in a bun. Our household eats turkey burgers pretty regularly and we go for a generous amount of Worchestershire and onion powder, which combined has that intense funky flavor component turkey is otherwise lacking. We also cook them in flaming hot cast iron for maximum crust formation.
JustNancy at 12:04PM on 10/13/08
I made these (sans the mustard) & it was very good but a bit on the bland side. Next time I'm going to add some onion soup mix or maybe a bit more Worcestershire. The outside crust was delicious.
sacheverelle at 1:46AM on 02/21/09