How to Make Grilled Turkey Burger

An ultimate to guide to making moist homemade turkey burgers. Lean turkey meat takes over any favor you add to it. So, this grilling season, bring lean and delicious grilled turkey burgers to your summer barbecue.

I love to serve, variety of burgers in barbecue parties to cater to need of every guest. Like Chickpea Burgers or Black Bean Burgers for vegetarian guests, and turkey burgers for those who don't eat red meats. Turkey meat is lean protein, easy to prepare, so no wonder lot of my guests prefer it over red meats.

Turkey is also great canvas for lot of flavor combinations. Greek burgers, Asian spiced burgers, or Jerk Spiced burgers.. Really, there are endless possibilities. So, today's post I'm not talking about toppings and kind of bread.. but all about, how to make moist and juicy grilled turkey burger patties.  Once you have juicy burger patties, use your preference to eat anyway you like - make a burger, top on salad or just serve on side of hearty grilled vegetables. (more on this ahead)

To make delicious grilled Turkey Burgers, I make sure of three things:

1) Add some fat in burgers so these stay moist and juicy.
2) Grill burgers evenly and make sure turkey is fully cooked.
2) Season it well to make sure I get flavorful grilled burger patties.

The base for a juicy burger:

There are two keys to keep ground turkey burger patties juicy and moist:
1) Use combination of dark and white meats: I don't use all white meat for burgers but but combination of dark and white freshly ground turkey. Dark turkey meat is specially succulent and stays moist when exposed to high heat such as grill or direct gas flame which means moist burgers. 

2) I add a little bit of milk in ground burgers to give it more moisture. Like for this recipe, I have added some dried milk power. A little bit of cheese, regular whole milk also do the same thing.

3) Never over-mix the meat: This is true for ground poultry or meat. Mix ground meat only until just combined. 

The recipe is of Greek Turkey Burgers.. but with the base ingredients in recipe, you can add any seasonings to make flavor of your choice. 

Grilling:

It is important to cook meat at proper temperature. I like to follow few rules whether cooking indoor or outdoor.

1) I make sure grill is fully pre-heated.
2) I spray grill with light coating of oil to create a non-stick surface. 
2) If grilling in pan, I always use cast iron or heavy bottom pan which circulates heat evenly. There by evenly cooking burgers.
3) If you unsure about meat is cooked fully? Take help of temperature gauge. Internal temperature of cooked ground turkey burger should be at least 165° Fahrenheit. For poultry, it is important that meat is cooked through and is not raw. 

Seasonings:

Ground turkey or chicken absorb flavors very quickly.. but this does not mean just salt and pepper is enough for seasonings. I make sure to season burgers, add some flavor in the mix so that every bite tastes delicious. To season these Greek style burgers, I added sauted onion and garlic for base flavor, with chopped parsley, toasted cumin, and oregano. 

Freeze for Weekday Dinner:

Making a few extra turkey burger patties always help me pull of weekday dinner under 20 minutes! I make patties of all mixed ground turkey at once and wrap extras, individually, in cling wrap, then refrigerate until we are ready to through these on grill. If I have some extras.. I freeze'em as-is. On weekdays, I thaw these 8 hours in refrigerator, then quickly grill/sear in cast iron pan for dinner. Easy-peezy!

I suggested to use this recipe as a reference and add any flavors you like. Make burger patties, grill'em to perfection, then serve family-style with following hearty salads:

1. Potato Salad
2. Broccoli Salad
3. Mango Avocado Pasta Salad
4. Chickpea Salad

Or top with slice of goat cheese, and some peppery arugula. 

Enjoy! -Savita