Turkey Burger Summer

This house is the official "Turkey Burger Central." I'm lucky to be married to a guy who doesn't really care for red meat, and doesn't really fight me on these things. Once in awhile, if we go out, we will splurge on a beef burger... But at home, it is strictly turkey meat.



The one thing about turkey is that I don't feel that it has as much inherent flavor as the fattier beef counterpart does, so I have experimented a lot with different seasonings. My favorite (other than the "Turkey Tricolore,") starting with ground meat and shaping the patties, has the following seasonings added:

a half-capful of Liquid Smoke
a couple shots of Worcestershire sauce
a little Adobo seasoning (or garlic powder)
a shake of ground cumin
1/2 a medium diced onion
one egg
a little salt and pepper

After you flip them once, then brush on a little chili sauce. I like to top them with cheddar, or turkey bacon, and a little lowfat mayo sometimes.



You can also substitute the chili sauce with BBQ sauce, whichever you prefer. We like veggie fixings and whole-wheat buns.



Another variation I like is to top the burger with turkey chili, and shredded cheese. They are sloppy and they feel sinful, but they don't have much fat at all.



Sometimes we get pre-packaged or frozen turkey burgers, so there is no chance to put your own seasonings inside, but they are really convenient. Grilling can dry out the Jennie-O patties, because they are very lean... But I got an idea from the Harper cafeteria, which serves really yummy turkey burgers. They keep the burgers in broth, and serve them from there. So we simmer ours in chicken stock until they turn white. It keeps them juicy, and you can strain the stock through a funnel and put the carton back in the fridge for re-use once or twice (the stock just gets more flavorful.)



Mmmm... well, now I'm all worked up, and I've gotta break for lunch... Hope you guys have a good one, too!