Wild McTurkey Burger
By Michael Higgins
Ingredients:
1 Large Turkey Breast (skinless & boneless, partial frozen)
1/4 – 1/2 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs (plus extra if needed)
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
4-5 Hamburger Buns with Sesame Seeds
Butter
Oil (sunflower or canola)
S&P
Mayo
Iceberg Lettuce (diced)
Lemon Juice
Fries (buy McD fries for plating but spice them up with some parmesan, garlic, butter and parsley)
Serves: 4-5
Directions:
1. Try to start with a partially frozen turkey breast, this will help during the grinding process. Cut turkey meat into 1-2” cubes, trying to remove as much tendons as possible.
2. Grind the meat using your widest diameter grind setting.
3. Season the ground meat with S&P, Paprika and Breadcrumbs. Mix everything with your hands but don’t over mix, just make sure all ingredients are incorporated evenly. The meat should feel a bit tacky but not wet, if it’s feeling too wet add some more breadcrumbs.
4. Once it feels right, divide the meat into baseball size balls, you should get about 4-5 from 1 large/mature turkey breast.
5.Dice lettuce and squirt some fresh lemon juice all over the lettuce and mix well. This will not only give a nice zingy kick to the greens, but it will also keep it from turning brown.
6. Heat a flat top griddle (or cast-iron pan) to med-high heat. Once to temp, add some oil and then place the turkey balls on to the hot griddle, you should hear a good hard sizzle, if not, the temp isn’t hot enough. After placing the balls on the griddle, smash flat with a spatula. This will give you the maximum amount meat-to-surface contact, resulting in more browning and more flavour.
7. Season the burgers with a little S&P and cook the burgers for a few minutes, you’ll see the edges starting to become paler, that’s the sign you need to flip it. Season the other side and cook for another few minutes, until golden brown. Don’t move the meat around unless you are getting uneven browning.
8. Butter the insides of the hamburger buns, and slightly brown them on the griddle, looking for a light golden brown.
9. Spread a good amount of mayo on both of the toasted buns, then a fresh grind of pepper on the top bun. On the bottom bun, place a good amount of lettuce and then season the lettuce with a little S&P. Then place the cooked turkey burger on the lettuce and assemble your burger. A side of regular fries or asparagus works great with this dish.