Tag Archives: ground turkey

Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Gochujang Turkey

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While we don’t have a typical weekday meal “rotation,” for those that do, every now and then, it is fun to throw a surprise into the mundane. Well, this versatile dish is a dinner that can be dressed up, down, and sideways depending on whom you’re feeding.

And you can up the pizzaz with sour cream, yogurt, or shredded cheese as additional toppers for the sweet potatoes. Or why not put the meat mixture between toasted buns for a version of Sloppy Joes? The Hubs dubbed them Korean Sloppy Joes.

Swap in harissa paste or Thai red curry paste for the gochujang. In the spirit of meal prepping, consider doubling the meat mixture and freezing half as a gift to your future self. (Wish we would have done that 😦 )

The timing will vary on how large your sweet potatoes are. It so happens ours were huge and took one hour and 15 minutes before they rendered tender enough. Therefore two spuds, one half of a potato per, served with a side dish (in this case, sautéed edamame with shallots and garlic), was enough to satisfy 4 people.

Do Ahead: Sweet potatoes can be roasted 4 days ahead; transfer to an airtight container. Cover and chill. Turkey mixture can be made 4 days ahead; transfer to a separate airtight container. Cover and chill.

Loaded Sweet Potatoes with Gochujang Turkey

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 4 medium sweet potatoes (1¼–1½ lb.), scrubbed
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1 medium green bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • ¼ cup double-concentrated tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 tsp. honey
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
  • Lime wedges (for serving)

Directions

  1. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°. Arrange 4 medium sweet potatoes (1¼–1½ lb.), scrubbed, on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet; drizzle lightly with extra-virgin olive oil and turn to coat; season with kosher salt. Roast sweet potatoes until very tender, 50–60 minutes. (Will take longer if your spuds are on the larger size.)
  2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in large skillet over medium-high. Add 1 large onion, finely chopped, 1 medium green bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, finely chopped, 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and cook, stirring often, until onion is golden around edges and softened, 8–10 minutes.
  3. Add 1 pound ground turkey to pan. Mix into vegetables, then spread out in an even layer. Cook, undisturbed, until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup double-concentrated tomato paste, 2 tablespoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste), 1 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon honey; cook, stirring often, until tomato paste is deepened in color, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup water and cook, stirring often, until liquid is reduced by about half and mixture looks saucy.
  4. Transfer sweet potatoes to a platter, split lengthwise with a small knife (don’t cut all the way through), and open up like a book. Using a fork, lightly mash flesh, making sure to keep skins intact; season lightly with salt.
  5. Spoon turkey mixture over sweet potato halves. Top with 4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal, and ½ cup coarsely chopped cilantro. Drizzle lightly with more sesame oil. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

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Recipe from Millie Peartree for Bon Appétit

Coq Au Vin Meatballs

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From Food & Wine, this riff on Coq au Vin, a classic French dish of chicken braised in a red wine stew, swaps out the chicken for ground turkey, leans on white wine, and transforms the dish into a semi-quick weeknight dinner. Tender turkey meatballs are browned and then finished in a simple and lightly acidic pan sauce speckled with earthy mushrooms and smoky bacon.

When making these meatballs, you can substitute ground chicken for ground turkey. Be sure to source ground chicken that is a mix of white and dark meat, not just ground chicken breast, which is very lean and will result in dry meatballs. Keep the meatballs chilled until you are ready to cook to help them hold their shape.

*Our meatballs ended up being quite dense, probably because they were too lean at 99%. So, just as you should not purchase all white chicken meat, buy ground turkey that’s no more than 93% lean, and try not to overwork them when creating the balls. We also suggest that after you place the meatballs back into the skillet with the sauce that you partially cover the pan. This should ensure the sauce won’t reduce too much and the meatballs will get to temperature quicker and stay more moist.

The original recipe indicates it feeds four, three 1 1/2-inch meatballs per guest. We had our doubts, thinking so few meatballs per person would be a bit on the shy side. However, served over noodles or pasta, it was quite filling (we also paired with a side salad). Meatballs can be prepared through Step 1 up to one day in advance. Proceed with the recipe as directed when ready to cook.

Coq Au Vin Meatballs

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. lean ground turkey (see above*)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1/3 cup panko
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 Tbsp. minced garlic, divided
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
  • 4 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped
  • 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp.  chicken broth, divided
  • 1 Tbsp.  all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (8 oz.) dry white wine
  • 2 Tbsp.  Dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp.  fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

  1. Stir together ground turkey, egg, panko, salt, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl until evenly combined. Shape mixture into 12 (about 1 1/2-inch) meatballs; transfer to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.
  2. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-high, stirring often, until crisp and rendered, about 8 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel–lined plate using a slotted spoon. Reserve 1/4 cup drippings in skillet; discard remaining drippings, or reserve for another use.
  3. Return skillet with drippings to medium-high. Cook meatballs, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Transfer meatballs to a plate, and set aside.
  4. Add mushrooms to skillet with drippings, and cook over medium-high, undisturbed, until browned on 1 side, about 3 minutes; stir and cook 2 more minutes. Add onion, 2 tablespoons broth, and remaining 2 teaspoons garlic. Cook, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, until onion is just tender, about 3 minutes. Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add wine, mustard, thyme, and remaining 1/2 cup broth; bring to a boil over medium-high.
  5. Add meatballs and half of reserved bacon to skillet; simmer over medium-low, partially cover and turn meatballs occasionally, until a thermometer inserted into meatballs registers 165°F and sauce is thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in cream and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Season to taste with salt. Sprinkle with remaining bacon, and garnish with additional thyme leaves.

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Original recipe from Anna Theoktisto for Food & Wine

A Fabulous Turkey Chili

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Cool weather, football season, toasty fireplaces, altogether signal chili season for us. So upgrade that vintage package of chili powder seasoning lurking in the back of your cabinet with something that takes a little more effort, but provides a welcome depth of flavor. Let this hearty turkey chili recipe guide you. To make it, you’ll blend a robust purée of dried chiles and canned chipotles to serve as the soup’s base. 

Building a custom chile blend allows you to create the chili of your dreams, which is to say: don’t worry too much if you can’t find the exact chiles that are recommend. Dark ancho chiles are smoky and have a raisiny sweetness; skinny, wrinkly pasillas a rich jamminess; and smooth-skinned guajillos bring bright red color and acidity. If you need to swap one out, aim for something around the same heat level. Feel free to make a double batch and stick half in the freezer (for up to 6 months) to make satisfying your next weeknight chili craving even easier. Of course, you’d need two large pots to pull that off.

Dark meat turkey is preferred for its richer flavor and fat content, but if all you have in the fridge is lean ground turkey or ground chicken, it’ll work. Brown it in batches to get a really good sear—the crusty fond that forms on the bottom of the pot is big-time flavor. When you sauté the onion, use a wooden spoon to scrape up all those bits (the steam from the veggies will help release them) and stir them into the mix. The flavor a bottle of hard cider or beer added to chili is preferred, but if you’d rather cook without alcohol, substitute fresh apple cider, a can of crushed tomatoes or tomato juice, or add a cup more water instead.

Round out the soup with creamy white beans, but any canned bean will be a good substitute such as red kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans. Like many comfort foods, chili is personal: put out bowls of shredded cheddar cheese, thinly sliced green onion, or pickled jalapeños, if you like. Serve with broken tostadas or tortilla chips for scooping or cornbread for dunking.

With any leftovers, create another meal by filling sweet baked potatoes topped with shredded cheese of your choice, or how about a platter of nachos to go with that football game? While we’ve made (and posted) many a chili recipe, this one has now taken the top spot overall!

A Fabulous Turkey Chili

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
  • 3 large or 6 medium ancho chiles (we used dried)
  • 2 dried guajillo chiles
  • 2 dried pasilla chiles
  • 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo
  • 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
  • 3 lb. ground turkey, preferably dark meat
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 5 garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • 2 tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 12-oz. bottle hard cider or lager-style beer
  • 1 3” cinnamon stick
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 15.5-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
  • 2 15-oz. cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 3 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (from 1–2 limes), optional
  • Handful of cilantro leaves and stems, finely chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Tostadas (for serving)

Directions

  1. Bring 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth to a simmer on stovetop in a large Dutch oven or other heavy large pot. Meanwhile, remove and discard stems from 3 large or 6 medium ancho chiles, 2 dried guajillo chiles, and 2 dried pasilla chiles. Tear flesh into a few pieces, letting seeds fall out. Transfer to a blender. Add hot broth and cover blender; let sit until chiles are softened, 25–30 minutes. Add 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo and blend on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute; set aside.
  2. Warm 2 tablespoons oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Season turkey all over with salt. Add half of turkey to pot and smash down with a wooden spoon to flatten against surface of pot and break into smaller clumps. Cook, undisturbed, until underside is browned, top side is no longer pink, and most of the liquid is cooked off, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining turkey, another 8-10 minutes.
  3. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in same pot over medium. Add 2 white or yellow onions, finely chopped and 5 garlic cloves, smashed; season with kosher salt and stir to combine. Cover pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, very soft, and starting to brown around the edges, 10–12 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon ground cumin and 2 tsp. dried oregano and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and sizzling, about 1 minute.
  4. Add 2 tablespoons tomato paste and cook, stirring to coat vegetables, until paste darkens slightly, about 1 minute. Add one 12-oz. bottle hard cider or lager-style beer, one 3” cinnamon stick, and 2 bay leaves and scrape up any brown bits stuck to bottom of pot. Bring to a lively simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is mostly reduced, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add reserved chile purée, two 15.5-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained, rinsed, cans of diced tomatoes with their juices, and 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup to pot. Add 1 cup water to blender, swish around to loosen any remaining purée, then pour into pot; season with salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until liquid is thickened and very flavorful, about 1 hour. Add turkey and simmer until flavors have melded, about 30 minutes longer.
  6. If desired, add 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1–2 limes), and a handful of cilantro leaves and stems, finely chopped as a garnish. Season to taste with salt.
  7. Taste chili and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed. Remove from heat and fish out cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Divide chili among bowls. Top with cilantro and lime juice, and some broken tostadas. 

Do ahead: Chili (without toppings) can be made 3 days ahead and tastes even better the next day. Transfer to an airtight container and chill. Reheat over medium-low.

http://www.lynnandruss.com

Adapted from a recipe by Carla Lalli Music

Roasted Turkey Meatballs With Mozzarella and Scallions

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These meatballs are straightforward to make and a welcome addition to many meals. The combination of mozzarella, scallions and jalapeño is cheerfully reminiscent of jalapeño poppers, and those ingredients—along with crushed Ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs — add fat and moisture for tenderness (which also makes them irresistible to nibble on while making dinner).

Our jalapeños were the size of small cucumbers, so our better judgement told us to use only one of them. In the end, the balls were only slightly spicy. But if you just can’t take any level of heat, omit the jalapeño(s) for a milder meatball.

You can eat these with Italian, Mexican or Middle Eastern flavors; their versatility is limitless. Dip them into green sauce, ketchup or tahini; swaddle them in tortillas, pitas or hero rolls; or plop them on top of rice, refried beans, mashed sweet potatoes or sturdy salad greens. In the end, we paired them with a curly pasta shape, and a favorite jarred marinara sauce.

TIP: We used individually-wrapped 1-ounce pieces of mozzarella and shredded them on a box grater, and it worked great.

Roasted Turkey Meatballs With Mozzarella and Scallions

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • ½ cup crushed buttery crackers, like Ritz
  • 1 large egg
  • 1½ tsp. ground cumin
  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
  • 6 scallions, coarsely chopped
  • 2 jalapeños, seeded if desired, coarsely chopped
  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 2 oz. chopped mozzarella, preferably fresh (about ½ cup)

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 425 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the cracker crumbs, egg, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper until a paste forms. Stir in the scallions and jalapeños, if using (reserve a little of each for garnish, if you like).
  3. Add the turkey and use your hands to mix until combined. Add the mozzarella and mix just until combined. The mixture will be loose and sticky.
  4. Using wet hands, roll into 12 meatballs (3 tablespoons each) and place on the prepared sheet pan. Bake until cooked through and bottoms are golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
  5. Garnish with optional reserved scallions and jalapeños, if you like.

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Recipe by Ali Slagle for NYTimes Cooking

Jalapeño-Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

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Intrigued with this odd combination found in a recent Fine Cooking Magazine, we were pleasantly surprised at the results. Despite two large jalapeños and some chili powder, it was only slightly spicy. Of course, if you did want to ramp up the heat, don’t discard the jalapeño seeds.

Our meatballs did stick to the foil, so we suggest using parchment or coating the baking sheet with an oil spray such as Pam. Also, to thicken the sauce, we added about 2/3 of the shredded Gouda to the cream cheese/milk mixture, then sprinkled the remainder on top.

If you have leftovers, top with some milk and/or olive oil to add moisture before popping in the microwave.

Jalapeño-Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites, lightly beaten 
  • 2 Tbsp.s olive oil 
  • 1 Tbsp. milk
  • 2 tsp. chili powder
  • 2 lbs. uncooked ground turkey breast or ground turkey
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped onion 
  • ¼ cup fine dry bread crumbs
  • 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 14-16 oz. package dried multigrain, whole wheat or regular spaghetti
  • 6 oz. packages cream cheese
  • 2 cups milk
  • Salt (optional)
  • 4 oz. Gouda cheese, shredded
  • Fresh cilantro

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In bowl stir together egg whites, oil, milk, chili powder, 1 tsp. black pepper, and 1/2 tsp. salt.
  2. In large bowl combine turkey, onion, bread crumbs, jalapeños, and chopped cilantro. Fold egg white mixture into turkey mixture; mix well. Shape turkey mixture in 1-1/2-inch balls. Place on a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake 20 minutes or until no longer pink (170 degrees F).
  3. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti, with 1 tablespoon salt added to water, according to package directions. Drain; keep warm.
  4. In same pan used for pasta melt cream cheese over low heat. Add milk. Cook, stirring, until bubbly. Return spaghetti to pan; toss to coat with cream cheese mixture.
  5. Serve spaghetti with meatballs, cheese, and cilantro.

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Recipe from Fine Cooking