Never had turkey burger. It always seemed weird to me but I bet its good.
I did my first sous vide smoked turkey breast over the weekend and it was fabulous. Used very close to the same brine recipe Caz listed, brined it for 12 hours. Then cooked overnight in sous vide at 133 degrees. Applied a dry rub and smoked for 2 hours at 180. So tender and juicy it cuts with a fork, with just the right amount of smoke flavor.
JTV, if you have an instant pot (pressure cooker) save the legs and thighs. Take chicken broth, an onion and put in it for 90 minutes. Meat will pull off of bones and you can use for many different recipes. I do this for turkey pot pie.
Cazador, I grind turkey as well if I have a couple. I find we use that more than a whole breast in the freezer. I just do breast meat since legs/thighs are used as I mentioned above.
Put the legs and thighs in a crockpot on low all day with a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of milk. Make sure the meat is covered. Strain juice left over and make a gravy adding the meat. You will never throw them away again!!!!
Try this one. Take one can frozen orange juice and thaw. Cut breasts into 1/2" thick strips and marinade overnite in fridge. Stick a stick through strips and grill one minute per side. I always keep the thighs and legs and make soup or pot pie out of them
Dave i used a lb of regular bacon for the two birds. I can’t say the bacon made a huge difference as I had a lot of meat and it seemed I was Short in the ratio department vs the meat I had. I think I had 16lbs of meat and when mixed prior to grinding it seemed light.
I’d think it would be good with just the brine without the bacon.
Lather with mayo, cover with spiced flour (oregano, paprika, onion, garlic powder-your choice) put in a cooking bag. Cook at 350 for 2-3 hours depending upon the size of the bird. Last 1/2 hour open the bag to brown.
I cook these side by side with domestic birds. Most guests can't tell the difference, except the way the bird and skeleton looks (if I let em).
Midwest, actually those little bones got me but I was under strict rules to salvage everything even the feathers.
My best half wa filming señor Tom that got arrowed. It was her first Turkey Hunt all going well, until I put my heel on the toms head at the exact time she stuck her head out the blind........
Tried the recipe posted by Cazador. Thank you for sharing!!!! It is awesome. All of my birds going forward will be brined and grinded with bacon. My family loved it and we all agreed we need to shoot more turkeys next spring. I threw a handful of hickory chips on the grill to give it a little smoke which worked well. Next time I'm toasting the buns, topping with gruyere cheese, maybe carmelized onions and then avacado. This is one of the best burgers on the planet!!!!
If you haven't tried Hank Shaw's Carnitas recipe's for the legs you should. Right up there with some of the best wild game I've ever had, I used to throw them away and can't believe I did after trying this. I've also done it with quite a few pheasant legs as well and it turned out just as good.
