Beefing Up Turkey Burgers - Cooks Illustrated

Published July 1, 1998.

For juicy and flavorful burgers, either grind your own turkey in the food processor or add ricotta cheese to lean, commercially ground turkey.

The Problem

A lean, fully cooked turkey burger, simply seasoned with salt and pepper, is a poor stand-in for an all-beef burger. Simply put, it's dry, tasteless, and colorless. Does it have to be that way?

The Goal

A healthful, lower-fat turkey burger that also tastes good.

The Solution

After trying all kinds of supermarket-ground turkey, we discovered that the best tasting was made from boned and skinless turkey thighs. This meat was flavorful, and it was only 10 percent fat. Because ground turkey thigh meat is not a supermarket staple, you'll need to grind it yourself. This is probably the biggest downside of the recipe. But the food processor makes surprisingly quick and easy work of it, and the burgers it makes, nicely seasoned with Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard, taste great--even to a confirmed all-beef burger eater.

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