Kitchen Magic for Best Weeknight Dinner
A Note from Teri
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I had always preferred a chicken burger over turkey, and considered a turkey burger to be sub par. But when I mentioned that preference to my guy Roy, he said, “Give me a sec and let me change your mind,” and he sure did. Roy reconstructed the turkey burger once served by Howard’s Knight Cap, a place Roy used to frequent in the early 2000s. Howard Jones was the owner of this small neighborhood bar just off Chicago’s Michigan Avenue on Ontario Street. They offered a very limited menu with a couple great burgers, a regular burger and the turkey burger, which was served only at lunch.
Back then, Michigan Avenue was loaded with ad agencies, so a lot of people from the advertising industry would go to Howard’s Knight Cap for lunch, eating outside in a little courtyard during the summer months. Their classic turkey burger, served with chips and a pickle, was so memorable that Roy was able to recreate it, and we then proceeded to perfect it over a wonderful weekend of cooking at our Michigan cabin.
Here’s the scoop: the perfect turkey burger needs enough fat. I need to digress a moment about fat percentages when making turkey burgers. Ever wonder why adding butter and cheese makes everything taste so good? Fat equals flavor. So when you are using a very lean protein like ground turkey, it’s important to use turkey with a higher ratio of fat to meat (80/20) rather than really lean white meat (which is about 90/10). If you can only find lean, white meat ground turkey, you’ll need to add a little fat to the patty mix to help the flavor along. I use olive oil here but a couple pats of butter will do nicely as well.
We also added chopped onion, a lot of chopped parsley, and some gluten-free panko crumbs. One could make a case for adding egg, but I felt that egg would give it a meatloaf feel, and I wanted a juicy burger. It’s important to note that this turkey burger won’t shrink as much as ground beef does. So, when I form the patty, I spread it out a bit so it extends beyond the toasted English muffin that we use for the bun.
This turkey burger is a perfect weeknight dinner. I always encourage followers to make extra and refrigerate for a quick meal, and this is no exception. You’ll find this burger super quick to put together. We loved ours on a toasted English muffin, dressed simply with greens, tomato, Swiss cheese, and my Marinated Red Onions. This simple combination results in so much more than the sum of its parts! One plus one equals five here in this very juicy and delicious burger.
If you’re limiting carbs, you can serve it on a bed of greens instead of a bun. The mayonnaise-based sauce is perfect, but this deliciousness would also be good with regular mustard or a spicy mustard.
Ingredients
For the turkey burgers:
2 pounds 85%, 90%, or 93% lean ground turkey*
1 cup finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
*Because turkey is such a lean protein, it’s better to get dark meat or use a combination of light and dark meat for these burgers. A higher fat content will yield the most flavor.
For serving:
8 English muffins
16 slices Swiss cheese
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Mayonnaise and Mustard
Directions
For the burgers, mix the ground turkey, parsley, onion, panko, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and pepper in a bowl with your hands or a fork until well-combined. Divide the meat into 8 equal portions and mold into patties that are slightly larger than the English muffin (they will shrink a bit when they cook) but not too thick. Patties can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before cooking.
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the patties, and cook for about 8-10 minutes in total, flipping halfway through. If the burgers are browning too quickly, you can turn the heat down to medium-low and cook them for an extra few minutes. You may have to cook the burgers in batches, depending on the size of your pan. Place cooked burgers on a baking sheet in a 200F oven to keep warm.
After the burgers have been cooking for a couple of minutes on the second side, place a couple slices of cheese over each of them.Cover the pan to melt the cheese.
While the burgers are cooking, toast English muffins.
To serve, mix mayonnaise and mustard together (4 parts mayo to 1 part mustard), and slather 1 tablespoon of the mixture on the top and bottom of a toasted English muffin. Place a turkey burger on the bottom bun and top with a tomato slice, lettuce, and marinated onions. Close with the muffin tops and enjoy!
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Dare I say this is better than a beef burger? And so easy! The sauce 🤤 Went with provolone bc it’s what I had and it was perfect.