the wife is hell bent on eating the food we have to "clean out" the freezer. I get it, but when I travel for work, she buys stuff she likes but I don't. Then half the time, she never makes it. So that said, we have turkey meat in the freezer that she wants to make turkey burgers out of. If it were up to me, I'd just throw in the trash or let the dogs eat it b/c turkey burgers taste like cardboard...but I'm picking my battles, so here we are.

Anyone have a decent recipe for making them taste at least "ok"? Yes, I've googled, but I can't trust recipes that say, "this is better than beef" and crap like that. I know it won't be better than a beef burger, so how am I supposed to believe anything they say?

I just add more to them than I would normally for burgers. I'll add an egg, mustard, worcestershire, bread crumbs, and then seasonings, for example. I also cook them on a skillet instead of a grill. I've found they stay together better and being able to use the lid helps cook the inside and not dry them out.

I mean I'm not going to put them up for any kind of award and I'd rather have a real burger 10/10 times. But they are still good, IMO.

I'll echo what ht said. I put a ton of spice in them. Otherwise they can be flavorless.

They fall apart pretty easily. They don't hold together like beef, so I freeze them for a while to help them stay together better - especially when cooking them on the grill.

https://www.seriouseats.com/seriously-meaty-turkey-burgers-recipe

Never made this recipe but Kenji knows his stuff.

fav13andac1)c said:

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Obligatory...

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and to everyone else, much appreciated!

If I were trying to make turkey burgers taste as good as possible I'd cook them in a cast iron skillet with a significant quantity of bacon fat or beef tallow. If you don't have to eat only turkey I'd get some 75/25 ground beef and mix it with the turkey to make your burgers.

htxag09 said:

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holy giant emoji, batman

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for emphasis.

just use the turkey as taco meat.. I do that and it makes it tolerable on a salad..

AggieOO said:

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the wife is hell bent on eating the food we have to "clean out" the freezer. I get it, but when I travel for work, she buys stuff she likes but I don't. Then half the time, she never makes it. So that said, we have turkey meat in the freezer that she wants to make turkey burgers out of. If it were up to me, I'd just throw in the trash or let the dogs eat it b/c turkey burgers taste like cardboard...but I'm picking my battles, so here we are.

Anyone have a decent recipe for making them taste at least "ok"? Yes, I've googled, but I can't trust recipes that say, "this is better than beef" and crap like that. I know it won't be better than a beef burger, so how am I supposed to believe anything they say?

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Just curious - is it turkey breast meat - which is super lean and dry - or is it regular ground turkey which should be more forgiving ?

Either way - an egg or even 2 (especially if breast meat) should help out

MichaelJ said:

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AggieOO said:

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the wife is hell bent on eating the food we have to "clean out" the freezer. I get it, but when I travel for work, she buys stuff she likes but I don't. Then half the time, she never makes it. So that said, we have turkey meat in the freezer that she wants to make turkey burgers out of. If it were up to me, I'd just throw in the trash or let the dogs eat it b/c turkey burgers taste like cardboard...but I'm picking my battles, so here we are.

Anyone have a decent recipe for making them taste at least "ok"? Yes, I've googled, but I can't trust recipes that say, "this is better than beef" and crap like that. I know it won't be better than a beef burger, so how am I supposed to believe anything they say?

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Just curious - is it turkey breast meat - which is super lean and dry - or is it regular ground turkey which should be more forgiving ?

Either way - an egg or even 2 (especially if breast meat) should help out

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ground turkey.

aggiespartan said:

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What about turkey chili? Maybe you could hide it in all the other flavors.

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lol, that's what she bought it for, to make while I was out of town. Will let you put 2 and 2 together there.

I would defrost them and make sloppy Joe's out of them.

Or pan fry them and cover them in a thick mushroom and onion gravy.

Mix the turkey meat with some pesto, a squeeze of lemon, red pepper flakes, S&P and some grated parmesan. The oil in the pesto keeps them decently moist, and they have a pretty good flavor. That's how we do it anyways...

Make meatballs instead of burgers

Tanya 93 said:

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I would defrost them and make sloppy Joe's out of them.

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i'd rather eat a raw turkey burger with no spices than a sloppy joe.

I appreciate the alternate suggestions, but wife already did the grocery shopping for the planned meals, so "burgers" are it.

AggieOO said:

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Tanya 93 said:

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I would defrost them and make sloppy Joe's out of them.

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i'd rather eat a raw turkey burger with no spices than a sloppy joe.

I appreciate the alternate suggestions, but wife already did the grocery shopping for the planned meals, so "burgers" are it.

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Making smashed burgers out of turkey definitely isn't the same as beef, but seared in butter with a slice of cheese is not a bad way to eat a turkey burger when you have to.

When you smash, make sure you use parchment in between the spatula and the meat, otherwise, the meat sticks to the spatula.

Central Market used to make Mediterranean turkey burgers, which had gorgonzola cheese and dried cranberries in them, and some spices I couldn't identify. I haven't seen them there in awhile, so I may have been the only person buying them.

AggieOO said:

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Tanya 93 said:

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I would defrost them and make sloppy Joe's out of them.

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i'd rather eat a raw turkey burger with no spices than a sloppy joe.

I appreciate the alternate suggestions, but wife already did the grocery shopping for the planned meals, so "burgers" are it.

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I love sloppy Joe's.

Unfortunately I am the only one.

So I make a batch of them for me for lunches.

But good luck.

We eat a lot of ground turkey here.

I will say if she pulls this again with making turkey burgers, chop up a one pound package of mushrooms in a food processor and add that to the meat.

It helps keep it moist.

I'm with you. Turkey burgers are absolutely terrible….

Try these. They're better:

Turkey meatballs
3 lbs turkey
1.5 cup breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1.5 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon basil and oregano
1 cup parsley
1.5 teaspoon each salt and pepper
3/4 cup minced onion as fine as you can get it

Coat meatballs in flour and brown, bake off on cookie sheet if not cooked through.

When we diet we make these and eat them like falafel. Pita bread with tzatziki and sumac and some humus with veggies. Really really good.

AggieOO said:

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the wife is hell bent on eating the food we have to "clean out" the freezer. I get it, but when I travel for work, she buys stuff she likes but I don't. Then half the time, she never makes it. So that said, we have turkey meat in the freezer that she wants to make turkey burgers out of. If it were up to me, I'd just throw in the trash or let the dogs eat it b/c turkey burgers taste like cardboard...but I'm picking my battles, so here we are.

Anyone have a decent recipe for making them taste at least "ok"? Yes, I've googled, but I can't trust recipes that say, "this is better than beef" and crap like that. I know it won't be better than a beef burger, so how am I supposed to believe anything they say?

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We do ground Turkey, garlic/pepper/onion and wild rice all in a pot and a little chupacabra seasoning and turns out great. And I'm super damn picky and it's good. We also use the spicy Italian ground Turkey for spaghetti, texture is a little different but the flavor is good

This happened to me not too long ago. I found a recipe/video by Sam the cooking guy. All I remember is it called for a metric ton of butter. It was no longer healthy, but definitely helped with the fact that it was a turkey burger.

Bro, you may be picky, but it's the kind of picky that makes some people choose McDonalds over Burger King. Most store bought Italian Sausage ain't that great much less than when you make it out of Turkey

AggieOO said:

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Tanya 93 said:

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I would defrost them and make sloppy Joe's out of them.

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i'd rather eat a raw turkey burger with no spices than a sloppy joe.

I appreciate the alternate suggestions, but wife already did the grocery shopping for the planned meals, so "burgers" are it.

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Do you live in Brushy Creek? I can come over and take those turkey burgers off your hand.

Make this. It's still healthy to keep the wife happy, and it actually tastes good. Use plain full fat yogurt, no exceptions. If you have time, after mixing it, let it chill in the fridge for an hour. That will tighten it up and make it easier to shape. And don't overcook it.

htxag09 said:

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I just add more to them than I would normally for burgers. I'll add an egg, mustard, worcestershire, bread crumbs, and then seasonings, for example. I also cook them on a skillet instead of a grill. I've found they stay together better and being able to use the lid helps cook the inside and not dry them out.

I mean I'm not going to put them up for any kind of award and I'd rather have a real burger 10/10 times. But they are still good, IMO.

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Your 'regular' burgers sound a lot like Salisbury steak recipes I've seen.

htxag09 said:

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Buzzy said:

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htxag09 said:

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I just add more to them than I would normally for burgers. I'll add an egg, mustard, worcestershire, bread crumbs, and then seasonings, for example. I also cook them on a skillet instead of a grill. I've found they stay together better and being able to use the lid helps cook the inside and not dry them out.

I mean I'm not going to put them up for any kind of award and I'd rather have a real burger 10/10 times. But they are still good, IMO.

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Your 'regular' burgers sound a lot like Salisbury steak recipes I've seen.

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Not sure why people always feel the need to insult other people's recipes on this forum. Where did I ever give a "regular" burger recipe. The only recipe I gave was for a turkey burger. And I stated that when I cook turkey burgers I add a lot more than when I cook "regular" burgers. Turkey burgers need to fat and the extra flavor.

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I read your first sentence as "this is what I do for regular burgers, for turkey I just add more". It was a reading comprehension fail on my part, my apologies.

I was craving Salisbury steak one day last week and was looking at recipes, hence my comment on the similarities. It was meant as an observation not an insult.