Mayo Is The Key To A Flavorful Turkey Burger That Doesn't Fall Apart
Mayonnaise is often considered a tasty way to top burgers and sandwiches, but it also has other neat culinary uses. When it comes to turkey burgers, adding mayo to the ground meat mixture can greatly enhance the flavor and texture of the finished product. Thanks to the ingredients in mayonnaise, it's very effective as a binding agent while also infusing ground turkey with some much-needed moisture and flavor.
Anyone who has whipped up a healthy and wholesome turkey burger knows they tend to get a little dry after cooking. Unlike ground beef, which has a higher fat content, lean turkey can lose moisture quickly, even with minimal cooking. And keep in mind that it's not a good idea to undercook a turkey burger in the interest of retaining moisture. According to the USDA, all ground poultry must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to lessen the risk of foodborne illness. Fortunately, adding mayonnaise to turkey burgers allows you to maintain food safety while also creating a flavorful and juicy burger.
Why mayo is an ideal binding agent
Anyone who has ever struggled to make a pleasing turkey burger knows that lean meat has a hard time sticking together due to the minimal amount of fat. This typically isn't an issue when cooking ground beef patties, as the fat content in those burgers helps keep the meat together while ensuring that beef remains moist when exposed to high temperatures. Turkey lacks the fat content that beef enjoys, which means you must use an extra ingredient to keep the patty intact while it cooks.
Mayo is perfect as a binder thanks to its ingredients. Take egg yolks, for instance, which contain lecithin, which is essentially fat. Along with being an effective emulsifier, meaning it helps tricky ingredients like oil and water cling together, lecithin also makes up for the leanness of ground turkey. While a moist texture is crucial when enjoying a turkey burger, adding mayo to the meat can have a similarly positive impact on flavor.
Mayonnaise also adds flavor to turkey burgers
When it comes to ground meat, eggs are often used as a binding agent thanks to their outstanding ability to keep food together. However, eggs don't impart much flavor to foods, which can result in a bland burger when it's made of something lean and mean, like turkey. Substituting mayonnaise for eggs is the perfect solution, as it can boost both the moisture content and flavor of a dish simultaneously.
Take Hellman's, a popular brand of mayo in the U.S. Its product includes lots of wholesome ingredients, such as eggs, distilled vinegar, concentrated lemon juice, soybean oil, and natural flavorings. These ingredients make for a more complex flavor profile while also adding a bit of brightness to ground turkey thanks to the vinegar and lemon juice. Additionally, the condiment can work in a pinch should you realize you're out of eggs when you have a craving for a turkey burger. Mayo is a real star of the kitchen, especially when it comes to enhancing ground poultry.