Cooking with ground turkey

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lensperry
lensperry Posts: 29 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I bought a pound of lean ground turkey this weekend and I need to use it - but I gotta be honest that I've never cooked with it before. I'm going to make meatballs tonight and I'd like to use 1/2 turkey and 1/2 beef. Has anyone ever done this before, if not with meatballs then with burgers, and had it turn out ok? Anything I need to know about the differences in how they cook?
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Replies

  • lilystan
    lilystan Posts: 24 Member
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    I don't eat beef but I can tell you I make turkey meatballs in tomato sauce from a recipe I got when I googled it and they are very good. Good luck.
  • rwaller1952
    rwaller1952 Posts: 1
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    Had turkey meatloaf last night, ALWAYS very good, we have turkey burgers occasionally and turkey meatballs, a little different because it is a change but you get use to it.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    If you put it in something spicy....chili, tacos, whatever.....you'll hardly notice a difference.
  • mom2sons02
    mom2sons02 Posts: 111 Member
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    I made spaghetti and meatball soup with turkey meatballs and it was very good. The texture is a little different, a little bit softer. I think 1/2 and 1/2 would be good. I am going to try it in tacos or chili, that way my kids may not notice.
  • AllieMarie2244
    AllieMarie2244 Posts: 106 Member
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    I bought a pound of lean ground turkey this weekend and I need to use it - but I gotta be honest that I've never cooked with it before. I'm going to make meatballs tonight and I'd like to use 1/2 turkey and 1/2 beef. Has anyone ever done this before, if not with meatballs then with burgers, and had it turn out ok? Anything I need to know about the differences in how they cook?

    personally mixing turkey meat with ground beef sounds horribly wrong...

    Jenneo has a recipe for turkey meatballs that is really good
    typically other members of the family dont even notice they are eating turkey meat especially in spaghetti sauce
  • crashdolly
    crashdolly Posts: 19 Member
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    I've used it in anything I usually make with beef - just don't expect it to taste like beef! It is tasty in a different way. I've used it for chilli, spaghetti Bolognese, burgers, meatballs, makes a great alternative.
  • gmoneycole
    gmoneycole Posts: 813 Member
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    I made bleu cheese stuffed hamburgers with lean ground turkey meat a few days ago. They turned out awesome. But because the meat was so lean there was very little shrinkage of the burgers so they were huge! They were really delicious and everyone liked them. :)
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    anything I ever used ground beef for in the past I now use ground turkey, with great results. It's a major cost savings for us. I use it in anything from meatballs and spaghetti to casseroles. I do still use beef for burgers but we only have burgers when beef is on sale these days!
  • tquill
    tquill Posts: 300 Member
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    My wife and I eat ground turkey a few times a week. It's usually burgers or tacos.

    I used to switch it up between ground turkey and ground beef... but now we only do ground turkey. The macros are the same between the lean version we get... but I noticed I just liked the ground turkey more.

    The burgers grill a bit differently than with beef... the turkey doesn't quite stick together as well as beef, but if you keep it on the first side long enough, you can flip it over just fine. We usually mix in diced hatch chili peppers with the meat.

    I also just recently purchased a burger press thing from amazon (~ $8), and I highly recommend one for ease and consistency.
  • MrsB123111
    MrsB123111 Posts: 535 Member
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    I LOVE ground turkey! I usually make taco meat with Mrs. Dash taco seasoning, which is surprisingly delicious! I don't really care for the Mrs. Dash seasonings. If you make meatballs or burgers, be sure to add an egg or egg whites, as those things tend to get a little dry. It is also great for chili!
  • scottjoh
    scottjoh Posts: 77 Member
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    My wife uses it in spaghetti sauce and I can't tell the difference between it and ground beef.
  • Butrovich
    Butrovich Posts: 410 Member
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    Turkey sausage is awesome if you like ground turkey with lots of seasoning.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    You can use it pretty interchangeably with how you would use your ground beef bu there are two things you need to be aware of:

    1) Turkey must be cooked all the way through - unlike ground beef which is ok to eat still pink (if that's how you enjoy your burgers - I like mine medium so they are still pink in the middle)

    2) Ground turkey tends to be drier than ground beef - I find it works best to mix them as you've suggested, or to use it in something that has a sauce or lots of other ingredients - like spaghetti sauce, tacos, chili, etc.

    I buy family packs of lean ground beef, and 1 lb containers of ground turkey - cook about 5 lbs total together, drain it and divide it into 5 individiual portions to put in freezer bags to use in all those things I mentioned above.
  • lizdavis07
    lizdavis07 Posts: 766 Member
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    I don't eat red meat so I replace ground turkey with ANYTHING requiring beef. It's just as versatile. Just needs more seasoning than ground beef needs.
  • brittany2188
    brittany2188 Posts: 63
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    I make turkey meatballs, turkey tacos and turkey spaghetti sauce. I made turkey burgers and didn't really care for them.
  • MaureensFreshStart
    MaureensFreshStart Posts: 102 Member
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    I've used ground turkey for about 15 yrs now, and use it in any recipe that calls for ground beef.
  • lensperry
    lensperry Posts: 29 Member
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    I appreciate all of the responses! I'd like to switch to turkey for beef sometimes - we're mainly a chicken eating family but do eat beef burgers/tacos/meatballs/spaghetti sauce occasionally. My husband's not picky but I have a 6 year old and 2 year old and would like to ease into it, hence the reason why I thought to mix it... :smile:
  • rak173
    rak173 Posts: 105 Member
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    I love ground turkey! When cooked certain ways you can hardly tell it is not beef. I tend to use it for meat sauces, tacos, turkey burgers, meatloaf and meatballs. With meatballs, I can tell the difference the most, so I tend to experiment and make different kinds (lots of seasoning required!)
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    I appreciate all of the responses! I'd like to switch to turkey for beef sometimes - we're mainly a chicken eating family but do eat beef burgers/tacos/meatballs/spaghetti sauce occasionally. My husband's not picky but I have a 6 year old and 2 year old and would like to ease into it, hence the reason why I thought to mix it... :smile:

    Unless your 6 year old and 2 year old have much more refined palate's than my 5 year old and 2 year old, I would doubt they will even notice - I wouldn't even ease into it unless you are doing it more for the flavor/dryness of the meat.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I mix turkey and beef on occasion. Ground turkey cooks about the same as lean ground beef.

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