The Trick To Making Turkey Burgers Moist
While turkey burgers may be lower in both fat and calories than burgers made of ground beef (and even the Impossible Burger), their overall healthiness may come at a cost — turkey burgers, if not properly cooked, can wind up being very dry. And who wants to bite into a hard, dry patty? For the trick to making sure turkey burgers stay moist and juicy, we turned to the turkey experts at Jennie-0.
So what's the secret to keeping that turkey burger moist? It's one that seems kind of counterintuitive: add a little fat. Well, great, there go the health benefits, right? Why not just ditch the turkey and go back to beef? Not so fast — the fat they're talking about is a little bit of oil, 2 tablespoons per pound of meat. While Jennie-O suggests olive oil, you could also use another healthy oil like coconut, grapeseed, or peanut. If you'd like to add a little flavor along with the moisture, you can use that oil to saute some chopped onions and fold those into the ground turkey before forming it into patties.
In addition to adding oil, there are a few more tips for preparing turkey burgers to help them stay moist while cooking. Be careful not to overmix the meat, as this can toughen it. Shape the patties uniformly to 1/2-inch thick so they cook evenly instead of drying out at the edges. Keep your patties cold until you're ready to cook them. Once you've got them on the grill or in the pan, don't press them down with the spatula as this squeezes the juices out, and try to flip them just once as flipping more often can slow the cooking process — the longer your turkey burger needs to cook, the drier it will get. Once your burger is cooked through (165 degrees on a meat thermometer), let it rest a few minutes so the juices will redistribute evenly throughout the burger.
Now that your turkey burger is deliciously moist, juicy and ready to eat, why not kick it up a notch with some epic toppings? Okay, maybe piled on condiments and cheese and bacon aren't the healthiest additions to your healthy burger, but it would be pretty tasty.