Turkey Burgers help- better to use cast iron grid or the standard thin metal chrome stock one?

westernbbq

I've had mixed results making turkey burgers. I  know you have to leave them alone so a crust can form.  I thought cast iron grid would be good but maybe all that extra surface area that the burgers need to form their crust on and therefore pull away when flipping them has given me fits

 

I have not tried with a  clean stock thin metal chrome grill grate yet but saw Bobby Flay's show this AM and he made turkey burgers on a weber kettle grill.  He's a big green egg nut so I respect his opinion but I wonder if anyone out there has done turkey or beef burgers on both cast iron grid and the stock chrome or porcelain coated grid and which one yielded easier to flip burgers which had a nice crust but without being too charred up

 

help!

 

 

Mattman3969

I have one grid and it's stainless. No problem on turkey burgers. I cook at 450 raised and get nice moist burger no problem I'm sure either would be a good choice. Good luck !!

Carolina Q

Can't imagine it would make any difference. Just don't flip before they are ready to flip. If they are stuck to the grid, wait til they aren't. As for flay being a BGE nut, I imagine Ardy paid him to say nice things.

westernbbq

thanks for the tips so far-   I've got two off Flay's cookbooks and one of them has a first section outlining the basic equipment you can use for cooking outside.  BBQ Addiction I think is the name of the book.  In it he indicates that his favorite cooker is the Big Green Egg- due to its precise temp control, efficiency and versatility.  Sometimes I see one in the background on his shows but lately, I bet that his sponsors would have something to say about that...

mollysue

for turkey burgers I mix in 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 cup salsa,1/2 Frenches brand FrenchFries,and a little garlic powder Cook at 350 about6-  8 minutes per side. Let fire go up to 400 and do a reverse sear.

Both turkey burgers and beef burgers need to be cooked to 165, ujless of couse you like to get sick.'

Beef burgers I do about 4-5 min per side. but I always cook to temperature wit my thermapen

U_tarded

i freeze them up for about 30 mins to firm them up before cooking it helps with sagging the the grid because the meat is softer when unfrozen. 

nolaegghead

^^^that's a very good technique

Legume

we started making sliders recently from ground chicken after getting tired of turkey.  both can get really dry so we've been sauteing a mix of finely chopped mushrooms, onions, carrots, garlic and whatever else lends itself to this and then mix that in with the chicken before me make the patties.  in fact the last time I did this, I made a big batch of the veg mixture and portioned it and vac sealed it for future use.  the veg really adds some flavor depth and keeps the chicken sliders moist.

soft-freezing works really well, we just tried this last time and I've found cooking them in a cast iron with a little oil gives me the best crust and keeps me from getting frustrated with them breaking up on the grill