The Best Turkey Burger
Prep
10m
Cook
10m
Total
20m
Bigly says
Pay attention. We need to talk about turkey burgers. And I know what you're thinking — you're thinking, 'Bigly, turkey burgers are SAD, turkey burgers are what you eat when somebody took your hamburger away, turkey burgers are the rice cake of burgers' — and you'd be RIGHT, you'd be one hundred percent right, about every other turkey burger ever made. Every single one. Dry. Flavorless. Little gray hockey pucks of regret and people serve them and pretend they're happy, big sad fake smiles, a national embarrassment, frankly.
But not THIS one. Not my turkey burger. This turkey burger is JUICY. This turkey burger has FLAVOR. This turkey burger will make grown men — big strong men, tough men, men who've never said a kind word about poultry in their lives — weep openly at the table. It's happened. I've seen it. A guy in Pennsylvania, enormous guy, construction worker, ate this burger and called his mother. Called his mother. Just to tell her about the burger. That's the kind of emotional event we're talking about.
The secret — and scientists, very smart people, the smartest, I had a guy with a PhD explain it to me, took him 90 minutes, worth every minute — is FAT. Grated butter. Frozen, grated, folded right in. Meanwhile the other recipe sites are too busy hitting you with a popup the second you land, then a newsletter banner, then a cookie consent form with 47 vendors — it's INSANITY, nobody reads those, it's a scam — to ever tell you the actual trick. The butter melts as the burger cooks, it bastes the bird from the INSIDE OUT, and you get a turkey burger that drips down your wrist. Drips. Down. Your. Wrist. That's the Bigly guarantee. End of discussion.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbground turkey, 85/15 dark meat(do not buy 99% lean, that is a crime against poultry)
- 4 tbspunsalted butter, frozen solid(freeze it overnight, this is the whole trick)
- 1/4 cupyellow onion, grated(grate, don't dice, we want moisture)
- 3 clovesgarlic, minced
- 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
- 1 tspDijon mustard
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tsponion powder
- 1.25 tspkosher salt
- 3/4 tspblack pepper
- 1 tbspneutral oil (for the pan)
- 4brioche buns, toasted
- 4 slicessliced Swiss or pepper jack cheese
- as neededbutter lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayo (for serving)
Steps
- 1
Grate the frozen butter on the large holes of a box grater directly onto a plate. Return to the freezer while you mix the rest.
- 2
In a large bowl, gently combine the ground turkey, grated onion, garlic, Worcestershire, mustard, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Use a fork, not your hands — overworking turns the meat into rubber.
- 3
Add the frozen grated butter and fold it in with a few light strokes. The butter should stay in distinct shreds.
- 4
Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions. Form each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty, slightly wider than the bun. Press a small dimple in the center of each patty with your thumb to keep them from doming.
- 5
Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy nonstick pan over medium-high heat with the oil until shimmering.
- 6
Place the patties in the pan and do not move them. Cook 4 minutes until a deep crust forms.
- 7
Flip the patties, top each with a slice of cheese, and cook another 3-4 minutes until the internal temperature reads 165F.
- 8
Transfer to a plate and rest 2 minutes. Build burgers on toasted buns with mayo, lettuce, tomato, and red onion. Serve immediately.
One more thing
That's the play. You make this turkey burger one time and you will never again eat a sad dry turkey burger as long as you live. Not at a barbecue, not at a hotel, not at one of those airport restaurants that charges twenty-eight dollars and serves you a piece of seasoned shoe — never again. Your standards are RUINED. Permanently. And you should thank me. People do thank me. They write in. They send letters. Real letters, with stamps. Tremendous.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about The Best Turkey Burger.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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