Amazing Turkey Burgers with Mushroom Cream Sauce are easy enough to make for everyday dinners, but elegant enough to serve for the most discerning guest. Once formed, the turkey burgers can be individually frozen, and cooked on demand in a matter of minutes. The Mushroom Cream Sauce is out of this world delicious. You will absolutely love the combination of the two!
I’ve been making and refining these turkey burgers for years. The Master Taste Tester has declared them “perfect”!
Ingredients for Amazing Turkey Burgers and Mushroom Cream Sauce:
For the turkey burgers, I used the following ingredients: Lean ground turkey, onions, breadcrumbs, egg, Kosher salt, dried thyme, freshly ground black pepper, unsalted butter, and olive oil. I used onions, mushrooms, Dry Vermouth, Madeira, and heavy cream for the Mushroom Cream Sauce.
Making the Amazing Turkey Burger Mixture:
Remember that I said that the turkey burgers were easy to make? Well they are!
I started by sautéing the onions in some butter over medium heat until they were tender. This took about 10 minutes. After letting the cooked onions cool for about 15 minutes, I added them to my food processor fitted with a steel blade. Then, I added the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, some additional unsalted butter, salt, thyme, and pepper. I processed the mixture for about 15 seconds. After that, I scraped down the sides of the food processor, and processed the mixture for an additional 15 seconds. That’s it!
Forming the Amazing Turkey Burgers:
Being the cooking nerd that I am, I weighed the turkey burger mixture, and divided the weight by the number of turkey burgers that I wanted. Generally, I make six. The mixture weighed around 27 ounces, so each turkey burger weighed 4.51 ounces (27 ounces ÷ 6).
After weighing the individual portions, I placed the mixture on pieces of parchment paper. Then, I formed them into a ball, and patted them into a patty that was about 1/2-inch thick.
Since it’s just the two of us, I generally make the turkey burgers ahead of time, and freeze them. That way, I always have a ready supply of these amazing turkey burgers on hand for a super easy dinner.
Cooking the Amazing Turkey Burgers:
To cook the Amazing Turkey Burgers, I started by heating some unsalted butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the pan was hot, I added the turkey burgers, and cooked the first side until it was golden brown. This took 5 minutes. Then, I flipped the turkey burgers and cooked the other side for 5 additional minutes. When the turkey burgers were done, I transferred them to a paper towel lined plate, and kept them warm while I made the Mushroom Cream Sauce.
Making the Mushroom Cream Sauce:
I added the chopped onions to the same pan as was used to cook the turkey burgers, and cooked them over medium heat for several minutes. Then I added the mushrooms, increased the heat to medium high, and cooked the mixture for several additional minutes. Next, I added the Vermouth and Madeira, increased the heat to high, and cooked the mixture until the liquids became syrupy. This took several minutes. Finally, I added the cream, and continued to cook the mixture over high heat for another minute or two until the sauce thickened.
The Amazing Turkey Burgers have a very fine texture, and are good enough to be eaten on their own. However, the addition of the Mushroom Cream Sauce makes them out of this world delicious. Yum!
- 1 1/2 cups (8 ounces) chopped onion (1 large onion)
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 1/4 pounds (20 ounces) ground turkey (See Note 1)
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) dry breadcrumbs
- 1 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 cup (4 ounces) chopped mushrooms, squeezed to remove liquid (See Note 2)
- 1/4 cup Dry Vermouth (See Note 3)
- 1/4 cup Madeira (See Note 3)
- 1 cup heavy cream
Sauté onion in 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until soft and lightly browned. Remove from heat; allow to cool 15 minutes.
Add sautéed onions along with the turkey, breadcrumbs, salt, thyme, pepper, egg, and 2 tablespoons of butter to the food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process 15 seconds; scrape down sides. Process an additional 15 seconds.
Divide mixture into 6 equal pieces (around 4.51 ounces each). (See Note 4). Shape into patties about 1/2-inch thick. (See Note 5)
Place remaining tablespoon of butter and olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. When the butter foam begins to subside, add the patties and cook for 5 minutes. Turn and cook for 5 minutes more (a total of 10 minutes). Place the patties on paper towels to drain, and keep warm while finishing the sauce.
Add chopped onion to same skillet used to cook the turkey burgers. Sauté over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes without browning. Increase the heat to medium high; add mushrooms and sauté for a minute or two without browning.
Add the Vermouth and Madeira. Increase heat to high and boil down quickly until the liquid is syrupy, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the cream; boil down again over high heat until the cream has thickened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
Pour Mushroom Cream Sauce over turkey burgers and serve. (See Note 6) Yield 1 1/2 cups.
- Note 1: I use either 97% lean or 93% lean ground turkey.
- Note 2: Once I have chopped the mushrooms, I start squeezing the liquid from them by the handful. Then, I place the mushrooms in a doubled paper towel, and continue squeezing them to extract as much liquid as possible. I'm always amazed at the amount of liquid that comes out of the mushrooms!
- Note 3: While I use half Dry Vermouth and half Madeira, you may use any combination of chicken stock, beef stock, port, Marsala, Madeira, white wine, or Dry Vermouth to equal a total of 1/2 cup of liquid.
- Note 4: I always weigh the turkey burger mixture, and divide the weight by the number of actual turkey burgers that I want, which is typically six. This mixture weighs approximately 27 ounces. Therefore 27 ounces ÷ 6 = 4.51 ounces for each of the six turkey burgers.
- Note 5: Once I have formed the turkey burger patties, I generally place them on parchment paper or wax paper, and freeze them. That way, I have a ready supply of these delicious turkey burgers for an easy dinner. If I cook them frozen, I increase the cooking time by about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
- Note 6: Any leftover Mushroom Cream Sauce can be covered and refrigerated for several days. Gently reheat before use.
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