Juicy seasoned turkey burgers
Turkey burgers get a bad rap for being bland, and these fix it with a savory spice mix and a golden crust from the pan.
- 20 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.01 a serving
- 430 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 lb ground turkey, 93% lean, not 99%
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp gluten-free tamari
- 4 hamburger buns
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 tomato, sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional)
- ¼ red onion, thinly sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 430 calories, 27 g protein, 28 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $2.01 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No ground turkey? Ground chicken works.
- No gluten-free tamari? Soy sauce works.
- No hamburger buns? Brioche buns work.
- No shredded lettuce? Iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce works.
- No tomatoes? Roma tomatoes work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Mix the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and pepper in a small bowl.
Dolly’s tip: Turkey is mild, so it needs more seasoning than beef. This mix is what makes it taste like a real burger.Put the turkey in a bowl with the spice mix, mustard and tamari and mix gently with your hands until just combined.
Dolly’s tip: Mix only until the spices disappear. Squeezing and kneading makes burgers dense and dry.Divide it into 4 equal balls and flatten each into a patty a little wider than your buns and about ½ inch thick, with a shallow dent in the middle.
Dolly’s tip: The dent keeps the middle from puffing into a dome as it cooks. Wash your hands with soap when you’re done.Heat the oil in a large over medium heat until it , then lay in the patties.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Medium heat
Cook for 4 to 5 minutes without moving them, until a crust forms underneath, then flip.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Cook 4 to 5 minutes more, until the center reads 165°F and there’s no pink inside.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Press the middle lightly: it should feel firm, not squishy. Cut one open if you’re unsure.Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Toast the buns in the toaster while the second side cooks.
Spread the buns with mayonnaise and build the burgers with lettuce, tomato, avocado and red onion.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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