These Ground Turkey Recipes Are Nice and Hearty for Dinner (2024)

FAQs

What makes ground turkey taste better? ›

How do you add flavor to ground turkey? Turkey meat can be flavored with easy ingredients like kosher salt and pepper, bell peppers, garlic powder, and olive oil. If you're cooking meat, specifically turkey taco meat, hot sauce and enchilada sauce are your best mates.

Ground beef and turkey are both nutritious meats that provide protein, fat, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Turkey is generally lower in saturated fat than beef. As such, it may be a better choice for heart health. Fat-free turkey is also the lowest calorie option if you're interested in weight loss.

Ground beef has 172 calories, 7.9 grams fat and 3.3 grams saturated fat versus ground turkey, which has 170 calories, 9.4 grams fat and 2.5 grams saturated fat. Ground beef has 2.4 grams more protein and has slightly less cholesterol and more iron and zinc than ground turkey.

Look & Color

Raw turkey meat should be light pink or beige, depending on the type of meat and its fat content. The meat color becomes dull as time passes, which is normal. However, if the meat has a brown, gray or yellow or green hue, you will want to part ways with it.

Fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, and sage along with a half lemon go a long way to add flavor, and stuffing it into the bird takes almost no time at all. (While you're at it, season the cavity with a good amount of salt and pepper.) Brining is an essential step to ensure a juicy bird.

1. Give Ground Turkey a Savory Boost. To amp up the meat's flavor—but keep it versatile for a range of applications—we added chopped shallot and Worcestershire sauce. Both enhanced the meaty taste of the turkey, while Worcestershire sauce's pungent tang added balance.

If you're eating for a healthy heart, lean ground turkey—which is lower in saturated fat—is the better pick for you. Of course, you can still enjoy ground beef from time to time, but choosing lean ground turkey more often will help your heart in the long run.

Your body can't store protein, so you need to consume it every day. As long as you don't eat too much turkey, it is a healthy way to get the protein you need. It's also a good source of beneficial vitamins and minerals like magnesium and niacin. Turkey is also an excellent source of selenium.

Both turkey and chicken provide the same amount of protein per serving and offer a rich protein source. Turkey has fewer calories due to the low-fat content. This makes turkey a good option for people monitoring their calorie and fat intake closely.

JENNIE-O^® All Natural* Lean Ground Turkey is the perfect choice when creating more nutritious versions of your family's favorite recipes. This turkey is all natural*, 93% lean, raised without antibiotics and has 170 calories and 22 grams of protein.

What is the difference between 93 and 99 ground turkey? ›

Two types to look for are 93% lean ground turkey and 99% lean ground turkey. The biggest difference is that the 99% version is generally made with all breast meat and contains no saturated fat. However, because it has so little fat, it runs the risk of getting dry.

Skinless, lean, and ground chicken or turkey breast are good low-cholesterol choices. 100g of lean cuts of turkey breast contain around 104mg of cholesterol. While this seems like a lot, it only has 3g of saturated fat.

From a food safety perspective, washing raw poultry, beef, pork, lamb or veal before cooking it is not recommended as the safest method. If you wash meat or poultry, some bacteria can be splashed on the surfaces of your kitchen, which can make you sick if not properly cleaned and sanitized.

But as any poultry starts to go bad, it will start to turn an unpleasant shade of gray. If that pink hue starts to look slightly dull then it's time to use up your ground turkey immediately, and if it has a gray tint (even just a slight one), then it's time to toss it.

Yes, you season it first as it goes in the pan. The salt, pepper, and chili powder will give it flavor along with the fresh veggies in this recipe.

Under-seasoning is one of the biggest mistakes people make with ground turkey. You'll find the meat bland and flavorless if you don't add a hefty serving of dried herbs and spices, as well as the unforgettable salt-and-pepper combo. The exact seasonings you should use for ground turkey depends on how it's prepared.

Most advice suggest soaking meat in vingear. However, I found that due to vinegar's acidity it just dries out the meat and makes it tought - not what I want from my expensive meat. Instead I tried soaking the meat in saltwater. This actually seems to do the trick, making it taste so much better.

Mushrooms add moisture, mouthfeel, and umami (beefy) flavor to the otherwise dry ground turkey. When mushrooms are chopped up into little bits, they easily and evenly mix with ground turkey making the protein so tender and flavorful while also giving the dish a veggie boost. And we all love that!

Using oil like olive oil is ideal for cooking ground turkey. "This helps cook the ground turkey more thoroughly, adds a bit of flavor and stops it from sticking to the pan," Dillard says.