What To Know Before Making A Juicy Lucy Burger With Ground Turkey

It's no surprise that ground turkey has long been considered the budget meat you should keep on hand for quick and easy meals. Besides its enticing cost per pound, ground turkey also serves as a convenient, healthy swap for beef in many of your favorite dishes. So, if you're tired of using ground turkey to make stir-fries with sautéed veggies and pans of Mexican-spiced taco meat, try using turkey instead of beef to upgrade your ultra-cheesy Juicy Lucy recipe.

If you're unfamiliar, Juicy Lucy burgers originated in Minneapolis sometime during the 1950s and consist of freshly cooked meat patties stuffed with cheese. While these cheese-stuffed delicacies are typically made with ground beef, ground turkey serves as a worthwhile substitute — with a few caveats. When selecting the right turkey for the job, aim for varieties that contain some fat. Choose ground turkey that's at least 93% lean, rather than the 99% fat-free kind. The extra fat not only adds flavor, but it also keeps your burgers from drying out during cooking. And since ground turkey tends to have a more neutral flavor than beef, feel free to incorporate extra ingredients like a bit of brown mustard and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. 

Speaking of extras, you can also upgrade your next batch of turkey burgers to max juiciness with one easy addition — mayonnaise. Not only does mayonnaise contain fat from eggs and oil, but this condiment also has a mild, savory taste that can easily enhance the flavor of your burgers. More optional add-ins include minced shallot, melted butter, raw egg, and panko breadcrumbs. While shallots and butter make turkey burgers extra juicy and flavorful, breadcrumbs and raw eggs bind the meat mixture together more easily.

With that said, if you often cook with ground turkey, then you likely already know this lean meat is usually stickier than ground beef and more difficult to manipulate. While adding extra ingredients helps, there are a few other ways to streamline preparation. For starters, prep all extra ingredients ahead of time, including that central layer of cheese. You can use any kind of cheese you like, but melty American, cheddar, or even mozzarella works best. Divide your meat into even balls, allotting two per burger. When the time comes, form your patties pulled straight from the refrigerator and work quickly because cold meat is easier to shape. You can also wet your hands with water, which makes the meat less sticky.

Once assembled, refrigerate your turkey burgers again so they don't fall apart during cooking. Lastly, since ground turkey can become dry if overcooked, use a meat thermometer and remove your burgers from the heat once they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit for a perfectly moist turkey Juicy Lucy.