Turkey burgers are a delicious, healthier alternative to beef burgers They are lower in fat and calories while still packing great flavor Many people prefer to grill turkey burgers, but they can also be pan-fried or pan-seared to create a fast weeknight meal.
Cooking turkey burgers in a skillet allows you to add flavorful sauces and toppings right in the pan With a few tricks and the right technique, you can make moist, juicy pan-seared turkey burgers that rival those from your favorite burger joint
Benefits of Cooking Turkey Burgers in a Pan
There are several advantages to cooking turkey burgers in a skillet rather than on the grill:
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It’s faster: Pan-frying takes 10-15 minutes total, whereas grilling tends to take at least 25-30 minutes including prep and heating up the grill.
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You can cook year-round: Grilling is limited to warmer months, but you can cook on the stovetop any time of year.
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More flavor options: Sauces and seasonings can be added right to the cooking pan for flavored turkey burgers.
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Better temperature control: It’s easier to regulate heat and cook the burgers evenly in a pan.
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Less mess: Unlike grilling, there’s minimal cleanup with pan-cooking.
Tips for Making Juicy Turkey Burgers in a Pan
Turkey burgers can easily turn out dry if overcooked. Here are some tips to keep them moist and delicious when cooking in a skillet:
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Use thighs or a thigh/breast mix: Ground turkey breast dries out more easily. Opt for ground turkey thighs or a blend instead.
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Don’t overwork the meat: Gently mix in seasonings without over-handling to avoid dense, rubbery burgers.
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Make indented centers: Flatten patties with a dent in the middle so they cook evenly without bulging.
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Brush with oil: Coating the burgers lightly in oil prevents sticking and keeps them moist.
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Flip only once: Just flip once halfway through cooking for better juiciness.
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Add cheese at the end: Top with cheese during the last 1-2 minutes so it melts without overcooking the burger.
Step-by-Step Guide to Cooking Turkey Burgers in a Pan
Follow these simple steps for delicious pan-seared turkey burgers every time:
1. Prepare the patties
- Combine 1 pound ground turkey with desired seasonings like garlic powder, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, etc.
- Gently mix by hand just until combined, without over-mixing.
- Form into 3/4-inch thick patties with an indented center to prevent bulging as they cook.
2. Heat the pan
- Use a heavy skillet or frying pan, ideally cast iron or stainless steel. Nonstick works too.
- Heat the pan over medium-high heat until very hot.
3. Cook the patties
- Brush both sides of each patty lightly with oil. This helps browning and prevents sticking.
- Place patties in the hot pan indented-side up. Let sear without moving for 2-3 minutes.
- Flip patties and cook 2-3 minutes more until cooked through.
- Optionally top with cheese during the last 1-2 minutes of cooking if desired.
4. Finish with toppings
- Serve turkey burgers on buns or lettuce wraps.
- Top with traditional items like lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, mayo or ketchup.
- For extra flavor, top with items like avocado, bacon, sautéed mushrooms or onions, fried egg, etc.
And that’s it! With these simple steps you can enjoy tasty, juicy pan-seared turkey burgers for a quick weeknight dinner. Adjust cook times as needed for thicker or thinner patties.
Cooking Tips for Perfect Pan-Fried Turkey Burgers
Here are some additional pointers to ensure your turkey burgers come out great when cooking them in a skillet:
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Use a combination of dark and white meat or thighs for better moisture and flavor.
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Add Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, or brines to boost juiciness.
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Cook over medium-high, not high, heat to prevent burning.
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Do not press down on the patties as they cook or juice will be lost.
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If the pan is crowded, the temperature will drop, so work in batches.
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Let patties rest for 5 minutes after cooking for juicier results.
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Add a pat of butter to the pan for extra browning and flavor.
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Mix in chopped herbs, spices, onions or other aromatics for more taste.
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Sear hard first then turn heat down slightly to finish cooking without burning.
Flavor Variations for Turkey Burgers
One benefit of pan-frying turkey burgers is you can add ingredients right to the pan for built-in flavor. Some tasty mix-in options include:
- Chopped mushrooms, onions, or bell peppers
- Minced garlic or jalapeños
- Crumbled bacon or prosciutto
- Grated Parmesan or crumbled blue cheese
- Barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, or hoisin sauce
- Sautéed onions or mushrooms
- Pesto, chimichurri, or tapenade spread
Get creative with global flavor profiles like tandoori, Mexican, Greek, or Italian-seasoned turkey burgers. The options are endless for jazzing up basic turkey burger mix.
Complementary Side Dishes
What pairs well with juicy pan-seared turkey burgers? These sides make tasty complements:
- French fries or sweet potato fries
- Roasted potato wedges or tater tots
- Pasta, potato, or green salads
- Coleslaw, broccoli slaw, or carrot slaw
- Skillet beans, corn, or Brussels sprouts
- Crispy onion rings, zucchini fries, or fried pickles
- For lower-carb options: cauliflower rice or mash
The Best Pan for Cooking Turkey Burgers
You can cook turkey burgers in any skillet, but certain pans work especially well:
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Cast iron skillet: Provides even heating and gets beautifully seared crust.
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Stainless steel skillet: Heats evenly without hot spots. Gets a nice sear.
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Nonstick skillet: Prevents sticking and allows cooking with little or no oil.
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Griddle pan: Great for larger batches. Gets a crusty char.
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Enameled cast iron: Retains heat well and is nonstick. Easy cleanup.
No matter what type of pan you use, the keys are getting it hot before adding the burgers and using a touch of oil to prevent sticking. With the right prep and technique, you can make healthy, delicious turkey burgers in a skillet anytime.
Fat and Flavor Boosters
A satisfying burger needs some richness, so next I added a bit of melted butter. A single tablespoon solidified when it hit the cold meat, creating tiny particles of fat throughout the patties that remelted during cooking to produce a rich taste and texture.
Ground turkey is full of moisture—more so than ground beef—but since you have to cook it to 160 degrees, it’s virtually impossible to keep the juices in the meat unless you give it some help. Here’s how we deliver all the qualities that make a turkey burger taste good—really good.
To augment the meat’s savoriness, I experimented with glutamate-rich soy sauce, Parmesan, and ground shiitake mushrooms separately and in combination. The mushrooms overwhelmed the meat, but 1½ tablespoons of soy sauce together with 3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan packed a solid umami punch without being overpowering. When shaping the patties, I used a gentle hand to keep the burger mix coarse and loose.
We often cook burgers by searing the patties in a sizzling-hot skillet. The outside of the meat quickly browns while the interior stays cooler. But the interior of a turkey burger needs to be cooked thoroughly, and in a hot skillet the exterior is likely to overcook and turn leathery by the time the interior is done. Unless I wanted to negate all the advances I had already made, I needed to come up with a new method.
My Goals and Discoveries
Pleasantly coarse texture
A few tablespoons of panko bread crumbs break up the finely ground turkey; gently tossing all the ingredients together and using a light touch to shape the patties helps keep the texture loose.
Juicy mouthfeel and rich flavor
Baking soda and gelatin keep the meat moist; help with browning, richness, and savory flavor; and provide a juicy mouthfeel. Melted butter adds richness, and soy sauce and Parmesan contribute savoriness.
Evenly cooked meat
Starting the patties in a cold skillet means the exteriors can slowly start to brown while the interiors rise in temperature to 160 degrees. Covering the skillet envelops the burgers in steam so that they cook quickly and evenly.
Confession time: I genuinely enjoy turkey burgers. If you’ve encountered a truly bad version (plenty exist) or consider it a punishment to eat a burger made from anything but beef, hear me out: There’s a lot to like about a well‑made turkey burger. Think a light, juicy texture; savory meat; and a tender, well‑browned crust.
For turkey burger success, you must first make peace with the obvious: Ground turkey isn’t ground beef. It’s very wet—71 percent water versus 66 percent for beef—which makes it hard to work with, yet it can easily cook up dry. That’s because ground turkey must be cooked to 160 degrees. At that temperature, nearly all the turkey’s abundant moisture will have been squeezed out by contracting proteins. Thorough mixing also causes the myosin (a sticky protein) in the ground turkey to link up tightly, so the burger turns dense.
Many recipes mitigate dry, compact patties by adding mix-ins such as vegetables, beans, and grains that either contribute or trap moisture or break up the texture of the patty. Unfortunately, with too many additions, the result often resembles a veggie burger, perpetuating the idea that ground turkey makes a laughable meal for a meat lover. It’s true that to make an extraordinary burger, ground turkey needs a little help. The key is to choose the right mix-ins and use as little of them as you can get away with.
Pulsing a whole cut of turkey in the food processor would have allowed me to produce a coarse grind for a loose-textured patty, but that was too much trouble for an everyday recipe, so I set my sights on improving the preground stuff. Just like packaged ground beef, packaged ground turkey is blended to have a range of fat contents. I knew that the 99 percent lean type was a nonstarter; the greater amount of fat in 93 percent lean turkey (more widely available than 85 percent lean) would provide more flavor and moisture.
To address the dense consistency that the sticky myosin produces, I added panko bread crumbs, which physically disrupted the proteins and made the meat feel coarse and light (rather than tough and dense) on the tongue. For 1 pound of turkey, 3 tablespoons of panko did the job without making the burgers taste bready.
But panko wasn’t a panacea. Kneading and squeezing the turkey to evenly incorporate the bread crumbs created too sturdy a myosin gel, resulting in a springy, sausage-like consistency. To get around this, I broke the slab of ground turkey into ½-inch pieces prior to adding the panko. This exposed more surface area for even dispersal of the crumbs, reduced the amount of mixing required, and kept the meat loose.
Now the turkey had a pleasant texture, but after reaching 160 degrees, it still wasn’t juicy. A couple of test kitchen tricks took care of that. First, I bathed the meat in a solution of baking soda dissolved in a teaspoon of water. The baking soda solution raised the pH, changing the protein structure and enabling the meat to better retain moisture. (It also sped up the Maillard reaction, providing better browning.) Second, I added a bit of unflavored gelatin to hold moisture, creating a juicy mouthfeel.
Juicy Turkey Burger Recipe
FAQ
How long do you cook a turkey burger in a pan?
Place the burgers in the pan and cook without moving them until the bottom is dark golden brown and crusted, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the burgers over and continue cooking until the bottom is light brown but not yet crusted, about 3 minutes longer.
How do you know when a turkey burger is done on the stove?
When the pan is hot, place the turkey burger patties in the pan. Cook about 5-6 minutes per side, until cooked to an internal temperature of 165° F. The burgers should release fairly easily from the pan when they are ready to flip to the second side.
How to cook a burger in a fry pan?
You can start on medium-high for about 2 minutes on each side in order to give it a nice sear, but after that lower the heat to medium low and allow the …Nov 9, 2020
Do you use oil when cooking turkey burgers?
Yes, ground turkey meat does not have a lot of fat, so it will require cooking oil to pan fry it.