I added salt, and this garlic-pepper grinder I got from Dillon's because I figured the turkey - like everything else - would need some seasoning. I decided to make burgers because I had some asparagus I needed to use up and it was a beautiful night for grilling. I marinated the asparagus in balsamic vinegar, vegetable oil, and salt and pepper - simple but delicious. If you do't have balsamic, red wine vinegar is also really good, as well as apple cider vinegar, I like to try all sorts of vinegars, and most usually work.
Because I am trying to eat healthy and eat less starch in my diet, I opted for two vegetables. The second veg was corn on the cob, which I could have grilled as well, but figured it might be a little much for one meal, and decided to boil it in salty water instead. After that, all I did was rub butter and pepper on it, which is just how I love it.
When grilling asparagus you don't want to overdo it, or you will end up with blackened mush. Grill just until they are a little browned and tender, but not black, that is too far. If you marinate the asparagus for a long time, it will break down quicker, so I recommend only marinating them for 20 minutes or less before you grill them, this helps with the grilling as well. If you know how you plan on cooking the asparagus when you buy them, try to find the fattest ones you can, they grill the best. You can get the small ones, but beware, they grill quickly and get crunchy fast too, so throw them on at the last minute. You want to do them towards the end anyway because they cook pretty quickly even when they are thick.
Turkey burgers are different from ground beef, mostly because you want to make sure it is grilled thoroughly - it is poultry, which carries salmonella. Also because it is ground it poses more of a threat because if the meat had bacteria on the outside of it, by grinding it, that incorporated the salmonella throughout the meat. This all may sound scary, but you must be aware of this if cooking poultry of any sort, because a high percentage of poultry has been found to carry salmonella. Don't freak out, by applying heat and cooking any poultry
to at least 165 degrees Farenheit it kills all chances of you eating it - which means you want to make sure you cook your burgers all the way through, unlike ground beef which most people like cooked medium. I like to used my cooking thermometer and instead of cooking the burger all the way to 165 on the grill, pull it off a couple degrees early and let it sit for 5 minutes before eating it. That way you will get a nice juicy burger, and not a dry, mealy one, then you will be more likely to LOVE your turkey burger. About the corn, I just boiled it, that is it. I never check it, I just boil it until I think it has been long enough and I pull it out, butter it up, season it and eat it. Now don't just let it boil the night away, it will be mushy, so watch it!
The meal was good, and because I added an extra vegetable and cooked them each differently, I didn't miss the starch at all. I added mild cheddar cheese, lettuce,
tomato and 1000 Island dressing to my burger - which ended up going real well with the garlic-pepper seasoning.
After trying turkey many ways, I was not surprised it made an awesome burger, with less fat and a lot of flavor. I recommend trying it yourself, and if you are scared of the burgers, start out slow with something like chili or spaghetti. I give turkey two ladles up or whatever you would say as a chef! Let me know what you think about turkey, and I can do more blogs about it - or even give me suggestions about what you want me to cook next! Thanks and happy cooking :)
