Ground Turkey Is Underrated and I'll Die on This Hill

Ground beef gets all the love. Ground turkey gets dismissed as the sad, dry alternative. Both assessments are wrong about turkey.

Done right, ground turkey is one of the most useful proteins in the kitchen. High protein, leaner than beef, cheaper per pound, cooks in under 10 minutes. The reason people think it's dry is because they cook it wrong.

The Key: Don't Overcook It

Turkey dries out fast. Cook it to 165°F and pull it. Most people cook it to 185°F wondering why it's chalky.

Keep the heat at medium. Add a little oil or butter to the pan before the turkey goes in — it has less fat than beef and needs the help. Brown it, breaking it up as it cooks, and pull it as soon as the pink is gone and there's some color on it. That's it.

What I Actually Make With It

Turkey and egg scramble: Brown a few ounces of turkey, push it to the side, scramble eggs into the same pan. Add spinach, garlic, and hot sauce. Done in 10 minutes. The protein load on this is serious.

Turkey rice bowl: Seasoned turkey over rice with roasted vegetables, a fried egg on top, and whatever sauce you have — hot sauce, soy sauce, the jalapeño avocado mayo from the eggplant sandwich post. This is meal prep food. Make a big batch of turkey on Sunday and use it across three or four meals during the week.

Turkey with pasta: Season it Italian — garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, a little tomato. Goes with anything from spaghetti to orzo. It's basically a faster, leaner version of a meat sauce.

Turkey lettuce wraps: Brown turkey with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and a little sesame oil. Serve in butter lettuce cups. Add shredded carrots and sliced green onions. Takes 15 minutes and it's a genuinely good meal.

The Seasoning Is Everything

Turkey is a blank canvas. It has a mild flavor that picks up whatever you give it — which is actually an advantage. Beef has a strong flavor profile that limits what you can do with it. Turkey goes in any direction.

Don't be shy with seasoning. Salt more than you think, build your flavor early (garlic and aromatics in first), and finish with acid (a splash of lemon juice or hot sauce) to brighten it up.

Get comfortable with ground turkey. It'll show up in your kitchen a lot once you stop treating it like the lesser option.

— Dr. Scott