The Reason You Don't Really See Turkey Burgers As A Fast Food Menu Option

Turkey can be crafted into delicious, low-fat burgers, serving as an alternative to beef. However, for numerous reasons, you don't see turkey burgers at many fast-food restaurants. While a few chains have tried offering these burgers, many ultimately decided to discontinue them. However, you will find turkey burgers at a select few fast-food restaurants that stuck with them.

There are a few reasons that turkey burgers don't appear on many fast-food menus. Turkey is a lean meat, and because it has less fat, it can become dry and less flavorful. This makes preparing and serving them in a fast-food setting difficult, and is often why it can be necessary to upgrade turkey burgers with special ingredients to make them juicy. Despite this, there is consumer demand for turkey burgers, especially for customers who enjoy the less-fatty meat.

Offering turkey burgers requires more resources to organize new supply chains and decreases efficiency by adding new food preparation processes stacked on top of existing ones, which reduces profitability. In addition, because turkey burgers have less fat and shrink less, which is why you can use a smaller patty when you cook turkey burgers compared to beef, they often need fillers like eggs, breadcrumbs, or mayonnaise to keep them moist, firm, and plump. When a restaurant needs added ingredients and more preparation time to produce a menu item like a turkey burger, it costs more. Turkey is also more expensive to produce reliably and consistently in large quantities.

Some big chain restaurants have tried to introduce turkey burgers, but most discontinued them. Though Burger King released a variety of turkey burgers in 2013, it eventually did away with the item. Carl's Jr. offered all-natural turkey burgers in 2011 and 2015, a first in the industry, but the menu currently doesn't list turkey burgers. In addition, Smashburger unveiled a turkey burger option nationally in 2017. Using the classic smashburger technique gives turkey burgers a flavor boost, as the faster cooking time makes the turkey more juicy and flavorful, removing a major hurdle for restaurants, so this seemed like the perfect fast-food fit. However, it was still discontinued. Reduced profitability may have played some role in restaurants removing turkey burgers from their menus.

Surprisingly, there are a few U.S. restaurant chains that have continued to sell turkey burgers. Red Robin serves a turkey burger topped with pepper jack, green chili aioli, lettuce, and tomato on a brioche bun, listed in the Veggie & More section of the menu. Under the heading for Classic Sandwiches, Fat Burger offers a built-to-order turkey burger served on a whole wheat bun. Although The Cheesecake Factory is more of a casual, sit-down restaurant, it does sell the Factory Turkey Burger, made with mushrooms, garlic, and spices, and served on its famous brown bread bun with fancy toppings like fontina cheese, arugula, marinated onion, and more. If you're craving a turkey burger, you can always look for them at smaller, local burger spots in addition to a few more fast-food chains.