Not-Dry Turkey Burgers
We all know I’m a fan of batch cooking Breakfast Meat in its simplest form (ground meat in a skillet), but recently I was feeling inspired to mix it up and make a breakfast patty/turkey burger situation.
The result was so delicious that I wrote it down in my trusty recipe notebook—a long-ago gift from my mom, the cover of which declares, with some sass and all-caps, I’m Writing MY OWN COOK BOOK and even lists me as the author.
I’m not much of a recipe person, so you know it’s good stuff if it actually gets written down in the official home recipe collection to be faithfully recreated again and again over the years. Only the best of the best ends up in this bespoke, spiral-bound beauty:
The secret ingredient that keeps these turkey burgers moist is mayo. You can use any kind of mayo, though I’m partial to mayo that doesn’t use crappy oils (check the label for avocado oil or olive oil instead of soybean or canola oil). In particular I find the chickpea-based vegan mayo from Chosen Foods is really versatile and lighter than traditional mayo. That’s what I used here, although I do also like that brand’s non-vegan avocado oil mayo too.
The other ingredient that really takes this recipe over the top is roasted garlic. The combo of mayo and roasted garlic means these burgers basically have some gourmet aioli already built into them. Classy AF.
I just happened to have some leftover roasted garlic in my fridge when inventing these, which is how it ended up in the recipe. Roasted garlic can be kept in the fridge and used for all kinds of stuff during the week, like making hummus or other dips, adding to beans, or blending into salad dressings. It infuses an earthy sweetness that can’t be beat.
It’s super easy to roast a whole head of garlic—google it if you’re not familiar, you’re in for a treat!—so you may as well make it part of any batch cooking routine, but if roasted garlic isn’t in the cards, these would still be delicious with raw garlic. Similarly you could substitute roasted red peppers instead of fresh if needed.
And if you’re looking for a delicious plant-based burger/breakfast patty option to batch cook, I really like these lentil-mushroom-walnut burgers from the OG Moosewood Cookbook.
NOt-DRY TURKEY BURGERS
Makes 14-16 burgerSIngredients
2 lb ground turkey
1¼ tsp sea salt
1 small or medium red bell pepper, cut into 2” pieces (or use roasted red peppers from a jar)
1 small bunch of scallions, chopped into 2” pieces
½ head of roasted garlic, about 4-5 cloves, squeezed out of the papery peel (or just use raw garlic)
Large handful of fresh parsley
6 tbsp avocado oil-based mayo, such as Chosen Foods vegan or regular avocado oil mayo
1 tbsp spice blend of your choice, such as dried Italian herbs, Trader Joe’s Green Goddess blend, Frontier Coop Herb Fest, or Balanced Bites Savory Blend
(Optional) ½ cup gluten-free or regular bread crumbs
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Line two medium baking sheets (or one very large baking sheet) with parchment paper.
Put the red pepper, scallions, salt, garlic, and parsley into a small food processor and blitz until everything is very well-chopped.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the turkey, spices, mayo and bread crumbs, if using. Roll up your sleeves and combine well with your hands.
The optional bread crumbs make it a little easier to handle (less sticky) when forming into patties, but the recipe also works just fine without them!
Shape the mixture into patties about 3” in diameter and set them on the parchment-lined baking sheets.
Heat a skillet with some olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, work in batches and add 3-4 patties to the skillet at a time with a spatula. Sear each side for 2-3 minutes until nicely browned and then return them to the baking sheet.
Technically this step is optional. It’s just for adding a little sear that makes the burgers more aesthetically appealing and a tad tastier. Don’t be afraid to skip it and head straight to the oven if you want, but do increase the baking time accordingly.
Bake in the oven until cooked through, about 15 minutes. The temperature in the middle should register at least 165°F when you check it with a meat thermometer.
Serving and storage notes:
Once cooled, these will keep in the fridge for 5-6 days. They freeze well too.
For breakfast, I’ve been reheating these in my toaster oven, but they could also be microwaved.
I like to use these burgers to make my own DIY Egg-wich. I cut the burgers in half longways and put them on a tray in my toaster oven along with some pre-scrambled eggs (I make a batch of eggs while the turkey burgers bake) and a few cherry tomatoes cut in half. It takes a few minutes to heat all of that up at 350°F, and then I assemble it into a little sandwich of sorts, with the halves of the burger as the outer layers and some hummus, avocado or cheese as well as roasted cherry tomatoes, and eggs in the middle. Highly recommend!
Here’s a photo to show you what I mean. I assembled this breakfast using the technique above and ate it with some leftover black rice and dandelion greens from the previous night’s dinner:
Egg-wiches aside, these patties also work well as actual burgers, so don't sleep on trying them with all the typical fixings—I would recommend a bun or lettuce wrap, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and baked sweet potato fries.
