Delicious Turkey Burgers

Turkey Meatballs

“Mom, will you make delicious turkey burgers for me to bring to a family pot luck?”. . .Darlene suggests making them into small meatballs that will go on toothpicks as finger food for kids who’d rather run around with friends than sit at a table. Meatballs on toothpicks could also be appetizers. Final take out project for last week: turkey meatballs for kids.

ingredients

Ground turkey, or chicken is an inexpensive protein in today’s market, even in the Whole Foods meat case.  Yet, ground turkey tends to be bland and dry when thoroughly cooked. A solution is to fill the mixture with flavorful, soft additives.  Realizing again that we’re making food to appeal to kids as well as grownups, we need to refrain from anything too spicy. Grated carrot, onion, and chopped green herbs will remain moist even when cooked. Simple condiments such as Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce bring out a savory flavor (umami). The other item to keep the mixture from drying will be soft, homemade breadcrumbs.

To make soft crumbs, remove crusts from good, non-sweet bread. Tear or cut bread into small pieces and then pulverize in food processor using a few off and on bursts with the blade. Store soft crumbs in a plastic bag in the freezer (never any need to throw away stale bread).  Homemade buttered crumbs also make crunchy toppings for baked pasta or casserole dishes or may be seasoned and baked until crisp for soup and salad additions. To make buttered crumbs, toss crumbled bread with a little melted butter or olive oil. Season with salt and bake in a 350° oven until golden. Store crisp buttered crumbs airtight in refrigerator. If you must use dry bread crumbs, use slightly less and crush finely.

ready to mix

Back to the turkey mix, combine all ingredients in the recipe except for the flour and oil. Use just one egg first; if the mixture seems too dry, add a second egg. Usually one egg is sufficient. Heat a small skillet and cook a bit of the turkey mixture and taste. Add more salt if needed.  Shape the mixture into patties for burgers or small balls. To ease the shaping of this sticky mixture, keep a bowl of cool water nearby. Dip your hands into the water, shake off excess and use wet hands to pick up and roll blobs of the burger mix. Repeat dipping hands every few balls. Then thoroughly wash hands!

Turkey Burgers or Meatballs

1 pound ground turkey or chicken

2 medium carrots, peeled and grated on small holes

½ large onion grated on larger holes, include onion juice

large handful fresh leaves: celery, parsley, spinach, kale, cabbage, etc. finely chopped  ½ cup packed

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (optional)

1 egg (or 2 if needed)

3 oz. soft breadcrumbs (3/4-1 cup)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1 rounded teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

few dashes of hot sauce (optional)

flour for coating and oil for browning

In a large bowl, mix turkey or chicken with grated carrots, onion, greens, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Let the mixture stand a few minutes and add the extra egg if needed to make a soft but not soupy mix.  Test a small amount by cooking in a frying pan; adjust seasoning if necessary.

burger mix

Shape the seasoned burger into 8-10 patties or make 50 small meat balls. To make meatballs, use a teaspoon to dollop the mixture out onto a piece of waxed paper. Use your wet hands (see above) to shape the dollops into balls.

shape and flour

saute

Preheat the oven to 350° Film a no stick frying pan with a tablespoon of olive or vegetable oil. Have ready at the side a shallow bowl of flour. As the oil heats, shake three meatballs in the flour and then sift off excess through your open fingers. Add the flour-dusted meatballs to the oil and cook on two sides until golden. Remove fried balls to a baking sheet. Repeat three times until all meatballs are browned. Add a fresh tablespoon of oil to the frying pan with each batch. Follow the same procedure for burgers: dust with flour, brown on two sides in oil. Place the sheet pan of with browned turkey balls or burgers in the preheated oven. For 15 minutes or 20 minutes if burgers are thick. To test for doneness, the burgers should feel firm or insert a metal cake tester sideways into the center, leave for 5 seconds, remove and touch the skewer to your  inner wrist. If it’s hot, the meat is thoroughly cooked.

golden brown; ready to bake

For meatballs, coat with 1 ½ cups warm Marinara sauce.

Turkey Meatballs
ready to serve

Makes 8-10 medium burgers or 50 meatballs.