About a hundred years ago I thought I would post recipes and food stuff more regularly here, but then I felt constrained to impart numerous jewels of wisdom (ie how Korean kids like to poke your bottom) that I have accumulated through my extensive travels from places as vast as Walmart and Korea. To those who subscribed thinking that I was a gourmet and would be posting more recipes, I apologize heartily.

But fear not! I have been eating (like, a lot) and occasionally I make something so good that I vow to break my food silence and share it with you. This is the meal that did it: actually good turkey burgers!

My problem with previously-used recipes for turkey burgers is twofold. One, they dry out really easily; two, it’s difficult for them to retain their shape and not disintegrate into turkey croquettes by the end of cook time. This recipe keeps them moist, solid, and most importantly, delicious. Like the choco chip cookie recipe I shared with you, this is inspired by the recipe for Quick Turkey Burgers in The New Best Recipe, pretty much the best cookbook ever.

EASY TURKEY BURGERS

Mr. Turkey Burger pictured with homemade homefries and Tabasco, the best condiment EVER

Makes four burgers.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 lbs. 93% lean ground turkey

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Kosher salt  and pepper

3 tbsp. olive oil

STEPS:

1. Combine the ground turkey, ricotta, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and S&P in a medium bowl until blended. Divide the mixture into four portions and then flatten the portions into 1-inch thick patties.

Note: I use my hands to get everything combined but I realize that may freak others out since it requires getting up close and super personal with raw poultry. You could just as easily put the mixture in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and combine it. Regardless of what you do, be sure to be really manic with the frequent handwashing throughout this recipe. The best recipes in the world won’t taste so good when Auntie Salmonella comes around.

I swear I didn't add a dash of plutonium to my homefries!

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat until very hot. I use a non-stick pan because then I can just put it in the dishwasher at the end, but NBR recommends using a cast iron or stainless steel pan with an aluminum core. I don’t have one; no biggie.

Swirl the oil in the pan to coat the bottom. Add the burgers and cook over medium heat without moving them until the bottom of each is dark brown and crusty. Flip them and continue to cook until the bottoms are light brown but not yet crusty.

Reduce the heat to low, position the cover so that it’s slightly ajar and steam can escape, and continue to cook them until the center is completely opaque yet juicy or a meat thermometer inserted from the side of the burger into the center registers 160 degrees, about 8-1o minutes. You may want to flip them again during this step to get them crusty enough for your liking.

Serve them up!

A note on bread: I don’t know about you, but I have HAD IT with packaged hamburger buns. Yeah, the gourmet ones taste good, but I can’t really justify spending nearly a dollar per Kaiser roll. When I make burgers, I prefer to just get a really wide French or Italian loaf (they tend to be very inexpensive if you get them at the supermarket), slice it up, toast it, and serve the burgers on it. It actually fits the size of the meat and doesn’t get all leaky if you’re a saucy queen like I am. One loaf will usually be big enough for four burgers, so you won’t have to pay for a bunch of mediocre bread that  you won’t even use.

Enjoy!