What you need for this recipe:
How to make these awesome turkey burgers!
- You'll want to mince the garlic and the onion. Set them aside for the moment.
- Next, you'll want to prepare the dry stuffing. If you don't have or don't want to use stuffing, follow the directions below for a nice alternative. You'll need 3 cups of crumbles for the burgers and there are a few ways to achieve this. One way (the way I did it here) is to pour some of the stuffing into a ziplock bag and smash it with a rolling pin until you get the texture you need. Another way to do this is with a blender or a food processor. You don't want to process it to crumbs but you want it broken up nicely.
- Once the prep work is finished, you can mix it up. You'll probably want to use your hands for this. It's easier, believe me!
- Combine the ground turkey, tomato paste and eggs until well blended. Salt and pepper to taste (remember that there is salt in the stuffing mix so don't overdo it!).
- Add the garlic and onions. Again, mix well.
- Add the stuffing mixture and again, mix well.
- To keep the patty sizes consistent with each other, you can use a 1/3 cup size dry measuring cup to help you get the right amount every time. See below on instructions for doing this. Form your turkey burger patties.
- I cooked mine in an iron skillet but you can also use a grill brushed with olive oil if that's what you prefer. For skillet cooking, add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and allow it to melt.
- Place the burgers in the pan but be careful not to crowd them. Here's where patience pays off because you want to allow them to cook over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes without touching them.
- When the time is up, carefully flip them over. I will usually add 2/3 cup of water to the pan once the burgers are turned. This keeps the outside from turning hard, makes the outside really soft and keeps them from drying out in the pan. Cook them until the water evaporates.
- Take them out of the skillet and serve!
How to form the PERFECT burger patties!
- Using a measuring cup, lightly pack the meat in. I always use a 1/3 cup dry measuring cup because in my opinion, it forms the perfect size patty.
- Put your patty ball on a piece of waxed paper. Lay a second piece of waxed paper on the top.
- Using your hand, lightly press down on the middle of your ball of meat. It will start to evenly spread out.
- Pat the meat through the wax paper until you have the thickness that you want. I usually go for around 1/2" for turkey burgers and 1/4" for beef since it shrinks.
- You can either put the patty directly into the pan, refrigerate or even freeze them between layers of wax paper for future use.
Important things to remember when cooking with ground turkey!
Ground turkey is very lean, meaning that there is not much if any fat in it. Sometimes this can make it difficult to work with in cooking since fat works as a binder, holding the meat together in the patty.
If your turkey burgers normally fall apart during the cooking process, you haven't added enough replacement binder to them to hold them together. Eggs are a great binder for lean meats but you don't want to add so much that you end up with scrambled egg in your turkey burger.
The other binder in this recipe is the tomato paste. I use tomato paste instead of the common tomato ketchup because of the seasonings in the stuffing. There is such a thing as having too many spices in a recipe and ketchup throws this completely off in my opinion.
Once the meat is mixed, it should have a little bit of a slimy feel. If it doesn't, you can try adding a tablespoon or two of milk or water to moisten it up. Milk can act as a binder too and I know a lot of people who use it in their meatloaf. You want the mixture moist, not dry. A dry turkey mixture will give you turkey crumbles, not burgers.
Patience when cooking is imperative! The more you handle the burgers while they are in the pan, the more chances of them falling apart. Watch them, but don't annoy them with a lot of fussy turning. If you have one that breaks up, one way to help hold it together once it is on the bun is to add a nice slice of cheese on the top.
