Parmesan and Herb Turkey Burgers - Make Ahead?
OK you know the drill. Got a "free" 21lb turkey last Thanksgiving 97 year old WW2 vet held it in his freezer for me until now. So got it back and using this opportunity to break down the bird and to experiments with recipes I want to try.
One is turkey burgers that don't, you know - suck :-)
This is one that I had my eye on. When I parted out the turkey I had 2lbs plus of boneless thigh meat. So perfect for trying 2 recipes. One was this one from Milk Street. The other one was not from ATK, but I'm a long time member there and they are on the list too for some koji turkey experimenting (yeah I have the koji done for a good while)
Anyway I digress - Key question: would one freeze the uncooked herbed burgers as is (raw) or par cook first then freeze?
Will the herbs and texture suffer from freezing without par cooking?
Yesterday I did one of the herb burgers and par cooked first at 425, in the oven for 20 minutes flipping. It was good, very good. But didn't finish to mallard it totally. Worked fine. Everyone is skeptical when folks talk about turkey burgers. I think this is a great recipe frankly. The density also makes it easy to work with. It's very similar to beef burgers in texture /density.
I will be answering my own question over time - but don't have all that much extra time to experiment as you folks :-)
I love Milk Street!
Comments
Hi Raymond - These turkey burgers are some of the best I've had, but I do think they are best made fresh since they are pre-seasoned and contain fresh herbs, both of which will fade in the freezer. If you do decide to freeze them, I would 100% freeze them raw and then defrost in the fridge before cooking. You can freeze them on a sheet until firm and then place parchment between and transfer to a zipper-lock bag. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.
Sorry this is so late. I never received notification of a response :-(
Thanks belatedly for getting back to me as soon as you did.
Ray