I love a good turkey burger; it is leaner than a traditional beef burger. Ground turkey has a mild flavor, allowing you to get creative with a wide variety of flavors.  I recently came across this article on Consumer Reports.org that alerted me to the dangerous bacteria that has been found in alarming amounts of ground turkey. Thankfully, independent lab tests confirm that the patented Grovac^® process in the Marinade Express^TM system removes up to 99.5% of bacteria from meat before it is cooked.  I can continue to enjoy my turkey burgers worry-free.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/06/consumer-reports-investigation-talking-turkey/index.htm

When I saw Rachel Ray’s recipe for Moroccan- Spiced Turkey Burgers I couldn’t wait to try them. This recipe takes your taste buds on a trip to Morocco with all of the right spices. It is topped with a zippy Mango Chutney Slaw and accompanied by a robust Veggie Chickpea and Couscous Salad. The recipe fittingly calls for pita bread in place of a bun. Unfortunately my local grocery store doesn’t carry pita bread. I substituted an English muffin, which worked great. Although, I must admit, I ate a burger without any type of bread and I found that the bread detracted from the medley of spices and Mango Chutney Slaw. In the future I will prefer to eat these burgers bun-less. This burger would be a great option for gluten-free eaters. I promise, you won’t miss the bun one bit.

 Worry-Free Grilled Moroccan-Spiced Turkey Burgers with Mango Chutney Slaw; 8 servings

 Adapted from 2,4,6,8 30 Minute Meals by: Rachel Ray

 Ingredients:

 Unflavored MX Marinade Seasoning
3 ½ to 4 pounds ground turkey breast
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons each of salt and black pepper
Grape seed oil  (for drizzling)
½ cup prepared mango chutney (find it in the International aisle)
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ red cabbage, chopped
½ green cabbage, chopped
8 pita breads

 Directions:

1.  Prep the ground turkey in the Marinade Express with the Unflavored Seasoning Mix for 4 minutes. Use a cheese cloth or a mesh laundry wash bag (sounds strange but it really helps the ground beef to not fall apart during the rotations). Squeeze out the excess water, remove from cheese cloth or mesh laundry wash bag.

2. Preheat a grill on medium heat.

3. Combine the turkey, cumin, turmeric, paprika, coriander, cayenne, curry powder, onions, garlic, cilantro or parsley, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a bowl and mix well with hands to distribute the spices. Form the mixture into 8 large patties, drizzle with grape seed oil. Grill burgers for 6 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.

4. While the burgers are grilling, mix the mango chutney, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and yogurt. Add cabbage, mix to combine.

5. Open up the pita pocket (or English muffin) and nestle a turkey burger inside each one, and spoon in some of the mango chutney slaw.

  Veggie Chickpea and Couscous Salad

 Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable stock
2 ¼ cups couscous
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
2 seedless European cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into half moons
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley or cilantro leaves, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
Hot Sauce (to taste
15 fresh mint leaves, chopped

Directions:

1.  Bring the stock to a boil. Pour the couscous into a large bowl, add some salt and pepper and olive oil, and stir with a fork to coat the couscous in the oil.

2. Once the stock is boiling, pour it over the couscous and wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, sit for 5 minutes.

3. While the couscous is steeping, combine the red onions, cucumbers, red bell peppers, parsley, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, salt and pepper in a large salad bowl.

4. To make the dressing, combine yogurt, red wine vinegar, honey, a few dashes of hot sauce to taste, mint, and some salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the veggies and toss to coat.

5. Fluff the couscous with a fork and add it to the dressed veggies. Toss thoroughly, taste, and adjust the seasonings with more salt and pepper as needed.

We  are a family whose members relish the holiday potatoes, gravy, and stuffing as much as the meat itself. Our turkey has to taste fabulous, which it does thanks to the Marinade  Express^TM ,  and we have some techniques for making wonderfully delicious, fat-free turkey gravy, and lots of it.

Our daughter was explaining to her boyfriend, who was our guest last Thanksgiving, that her grandmother first taught us the fat-free gravy technique. Grandma had been using this healthy method for 50 years before we saw it recommended in a 1985 edition of “The American Heart Association Diet” brochure. We added later refinements to the process, especially through use of the Marinade Express^TM to prep the turkey before roasting it. Using the appliance reduces the fat content of the bird as well as impurities and improves its flavor and that of the drippings.  

“Mom did not have to spend time wrestling with the drippings in the roasting pan to make today’s gravy,” our daughter explained to her boyfriend, “but part of clean-up after dinner will involve the deglazing and scraping of every brown bit from the pan and rack so she can prepare and freeze this turkey’s juices for gravy next time, just as Grandma used to do.” Listening to her narrative was a fun reflection on the techniques and traditions that were handed down in our family.

I also freeze juices from roasted turkey or chicken pieces when gravy is not part of the menu, and this helps provide the quantity we want to have for our holiday meals.  I defrost these containers of drippings a day or two before our holiday meal, and simmer them in a large saucepan to reduce them and concentrate the flavor. I strain all through a fine mesh sieve and refrigerate until time to heat and thicken the holiday gravy. It’s great to do as much advance preparation as possible, in order to better enjoy the holiday itself.  Here’s a list of the steps; I do the first four in advance:

1. Prepare poultry in the Marinade Express^TM.   We prefer the unflavored MX Marinade to highlight the natural taste of the turkey and drippings. We use the large chef drum and process the whole turkey about 60 minutes. Then we stuff it and roast, adjusting the time-by-weight plan down by 20 % because proteins prepped in the Marinade Express will usually cook that much faster. Instead of  5 hours at 325°, a 16 pound turkey will take about 4 hours to roast.
2. Deglaze the roasting pan and rack on the stovetop, using water or quality commercial chicken broth, and scrape all the brown bits into the liquid. Transfer all liquid to a food-storage container.
3. Refrigerate overnight (or freeze a short time) until fat solidifies and can be scraped off the top and discarded. Label and freeze the container for making gravy later.
4. Two or three days before making the gravy, transfer the container(s) of poultry juices to the refrigerator to defrost. Then collect the juices in a 3-quart, heavy saucepan. Heat to boiling, then lower heat and simmer an hour or two until reduced (½ to 1 inch from the starting level for two quarts of juices).  Strain through a fine mesh sieve and refrigerate again until time to make the gravy.
5. At gravy-making time, skim off any additional solidified fat, and return the stock to a 3-quart, heavy saucepan. Heat the stock to simmering. In a bowl, dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of water or quality commercial chicken broth (start with 1 tablespoon cornstarch per 1 ½ cups stock; dissolve more cornstarch in cold water or broth if necessary to thicken). Whisk into hot broth, stirring constantly until thickened. Serve and enjoy!   (No seasoning was needed for our richly-flavored gravy last Thanksgiving).