Cooking Healthy: Turkey burgers can be made tasty, juicy

Credit: AP Photo

Turkey burgers aren't always the most healthful choice when compared to beef.

By: By Jim Romanoff | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 08, 2009

If you think just because you use ground turkey to make a burger it's automatically healthier, you could be in for a big surprise.

Ground turkey has a reputation for being lean, but there are many varieties available, some with as much as 17 grams of fat in a 4-ounce portion. At that point, you might as well use ground chuck, which is more flavorful and has only 14 grams of fat.

At the other extreme, you will want to avoid 99 percent lean ground turkey. It produces dry, flavorless patties.

A good compromise is 93 percent lean ground turkey, which has about 8 grams of fat in each serving. But even with that amount of fat, a turkey burger can be somewhat lacking in flavor and moisture, so you'll want to make some additions to the meat.

Treating this kind of turkey burger as a tiny meatloaf is a good strategy. Mixing in ingredients such as ketchup, Dijon mustard, chopped onions and fresh herbs will all add moisture and flavor.

Some recipes even call for adding ½ cup of low-fat cottage or ricotta cheese to each pound of lean ground turkey to moisten things up.

This recipe adds flavor with sweet white miso, a nutty, savory Asian paste that's made from fermented rice or barley. Look for it near the tofu in natural-food stores and many supermarkets.

Fresh ginger and scallions add even more flavor and moisture, and crispy panko (Japanese-style) breadcrumbs help to lock it all in.

Miso-Ginger Turkey Burger

2 tablespoons sweet white miso

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 pound 93 percent lean ground turkey

½ cup chopped scallions

⅓ cup panko (Japanese-style) breadcrumbs

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Vegetable oil

4 whole-wheat hamburger buns

Salt, to taste

1. Heat a grill to medium-high.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together miso, soy sauce and ginger. Add turkey, scallions, breadcrumbs and black pepper. Gently but thoroughly mix together. Shape into 4 patties, each about ¾-inch thick.

3. Dampen a folded paper towel with vegetable oil, hold it with tongs and rub it over the grates.

4. Grill the burgers until well browned on the underside, about 4 to 5 minutes. With a metal spatula, turn the burgers over carefully. Grill for 4 to 6 more minutes, or until the burgers reach 165 degrees at the thickest part.

5. Meanwhile, toast the buns at the edge of the grill. Season the burgers with salt. Dress the burgers with condiments and vegetables as desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition information for one serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 323 calories; 90 calories from fat; 10 g fat (3 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 65 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrate; 28 g protein; 4 g fiber; 1,017 mg sodium.