Switching to ground Turkey

dancer1178
dancer1178 Posts: 50
in Food and Nutrition
So while I know I won't be able to convince my guy to give up red meat completely, I have switched to using Ground turkey in place of ground beef. The problem we are having is making burger patties that do not fall through the grill. I would normally use a little breadcrumb and an egg but I was wondering if there was a healthier way to make a patty without turning it into a meatball :)

Replies

  • NikkiMac27
    NikkiMac27 Posts: 1
    High heat at first will create that "crust" on the outside and keep it together. You can also put a sheet of tin foil down on the grill, spritz it with some grilling spray and then grill the burger. Or, Just use a pan. Don't over work the ground turkey when making patties. Just until they come together. It is a bit of a learning curve, since there isn't all that fat to hold it together.
  • 43932452
    43932452 Posts: 7,246 Member
    Egg might be alright if you omit the yolk?
    It's a healthy fat but there is olive oil too.
    Idk .. I usually just eat pieces of chicken
    or crumbled turkey meat .
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    My hubby and I have reached a compromise (with him doing the majority of the compromising, frankly). I use ground turkey for everything you can use hamburger for, but when it comes to grilling, I agree to eat lean ground beef.

    I haven't cooked hamburger in my house twenty plus years. Can't stand the smell of it cooking, and I swear the greasy smell lingers for days. But I can compromise and eat a grilled lean ground beef burger from time to time.
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
    Ground turkey usually has a lot of fat too, plus it's bland and often unsanitary. It's okay in some things if you are trying to save money, but for burgers just get low fat ground beef.

    Actual tip: adding some unflavored gelatin helps all low fat ground meats stay moist and hold together.
  • getting_fit86
    getting_fit86 Posts: 128 Member
    Try using 1 tablespoon of a low calorie BBQ sauce (you can get some that only have 15 calories per tablespoon) mixed with about 3 egg whites. That way your only adding about 50 extra calories and they hold together perfectly!
  • pamelak5
    pamelak5 Posts: 327 Member
    Have you tried bison or buffalo? I prefer those to beef, frankly, and they can be even leaner than turkey.
  • Nefetete
    Nefetete Posts: 343 Member
    I would just use the eggs and bread crumbs if it works and you like the flavor. There is nothing wrong with either one.

    That being said, from a flavor profile, I rather have a beef burger higher cals then 2 turkey burgers. But thats just me.
  • Seefylol
    Seefylol Posts: 197
    Ground turkey usually has a lot of fat too,

    Does it?

    Anyways, what I normally do is just put the burgers over a piece of tin foil so they don't fall through the grill :) Saves you adding anything extra to the meat, unless you want to of course.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Egg might be alright if you omit the yolk?
    It's a healthy fat but there is olive oil too.
    Idk .. I usually just eat pieces of chicken
    or crumbled turkey meat .

    There is nothing wrong with egg yolk...the yolk is where all of the nutrition is.

    OP...look at the fat content of the ground turkey....90/10 ground turkey is the same as 90/10 ground beef...except the ground beef is going to taste a **** load better. Also, nothing wrong with red meat...I limit it to just a couple times per week, but only because it tends to be more calorie dense than chicken breast or fish, so I can't eat as much of it. But there's nothing wrong with it.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    Ground turkey usually has a lot of fat too,

    Does it?

    You just have to read the labels. You can get 90/10 turkey and you can get 96/4 beef. There are better and worse options for each kind, you just have to check.
  • WhoButME28
    WhoButME28 Posts: 63 Member
    I love ground turkey! That is all...
  • Seefylol
    Seefylol Posts: 197
    Ground turkey usually has a lot of fat too,

    Does it?

    You just have to read the labels. You can get 90/10 turkey and you can get 96/4 beef. There are better and worse options for each kind, you just have to check.

    Ahh right. I've been using the same brand for pretty much the last 2 years so not too sure. My turkey has 2g of fat per 200g and my ground beef has 18g of fat per 200g.

    Not that I'm aruging about fat or anything... fat is awesome!
  • hannah1011z
    hannah1011z Posts: 113 Member
    I use ground turkey/ ground pork as well. and what ive found that works is i pre pack the turky into hamburgers and then freeze them and instead of letting them thaw i put em right on the grill. as long as they cook all the way through it should be just fine otherwise maybe youll just have to cook em on a skillet :/
  • Kettle_Belle14
    Kettle_Belle14 Posts: 246 Member
    Make a patty out of a combination of lean ground beef and ground turkey. Add a little mozarella cheese to it as well. It's so good!
  • zumbajheri
    zumbajheri Posts: 200 Member
    Make a patty out of a combination of lean ground beef and ground turkey. Add a little mozarella cheese to it as well. It's so good!

    On top of the patty or mixed in with the meat? Thanks in advance.
  • nomoredoughnuts
    nomoredoughnuts Posts: 130 Member
    I use some ground tomato and oats. :)
  • Kettle_Belle14
    Kettle_Belle14 Posts: 246 Member
    Make a patty out of a combination of lean ground beef and ground turkey. Add a little mozarella cheese to it as well. It's so good!

    On top of the patty or mixed in with the meat? Thanks in advance.

    We mix it in the meat. :)
  • coco3382458
    coco3382458 Posts: 296 Member
    i always use mayo, garlic and rosemary in mine and it binds great. I am wondering though if FF greek yogurt would work ok too. I might be trying this real soon
  • Trilby16
    Trilby16 Posts: 707 Member
    Ground turkey usually has a lot of fat too, plus it's bland and often unsanitary. It's okay in some things if you are trying to save money, but for burgers just get low fat ground beef.

    Actual tip: adding some unflavored gelatin helps all low fat ground meats stay moist and hold together.

    Agree! It's gotten too risky. I would not eat it unless I ground it myself. A meat grinder is so worth it! For beef too. Haven't bought store-ground beef in years.
  • adrylong
    adrylong Posts: 29
    I made turkey burgers for our Fourth of July barbeque. I only added some spices and some gluten free bread crumbs, and they didn't fall apart. I tend to make my burgers a little fatter than thinner, so perhaps that helps to prevent them from falling apart.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Definitely make sure you have high heat on the grill. I liked the suggestion of using a piece of tin-foil.

    I usually mix the ground meat with: (saw this in a cookbook)
    Bit of Olive Oil and Worchestershire sauce
    Dash or two of Garlic powder and onion powder
    MAYBE a dash or two of salt/pepper and some sort of grill seasoning.

    Then make them into patties.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    Mine don't fall apart. I just use worcestershire sauce and minced onion, and I think they need to be a little thicker than your average beef patty. I used to use ground turkey breast, but the burgers were so dry that I found myself adding oils or barbecue sauce to make them moister... I thought that was dumb, so I switched to regular ground turkey and the burgers are much better now.

    Ground turkey also works well in tacos, spaghetti sauce, chili, and meatloaf. :smile:
  • dancer1178
    dancer1178 Posts: 50
    These are all awesome!! Thank you!! We came to the decision of using the ground beef when we are making burgers on the grill & using ground turkey for pastas, enchiladas etc...but I might need to try some of these suggestions! lol. My guy tends to make his burgers thick, and uses minced garlic and onion and Worcestershire sauce. I've started to worry about all the little extras we use while cooking, so maybe I'm being too cautious! Thanks everyone :)

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