Chili With Ground Turkey Versus Ground Beef?

[+ Gar1eth]

A friend gave me some ground turkey. I'm not sure I've ever had ground turkey before. I never order a turkey burger at hamburger places.

 

Anyone have any experience making turkey chili? Having never had turkey before, would I notice a lot of difference?

 

Gman

[jjkrkwood]

A friend gave me some ground turkey. I'm not sure I've ever had ground turkey before. I never order a turkey burger at hamburger places.

 

Anyone have any experience making turkey chili? Having never had turkey before, would I notice a lot of difference?

 

Gman

 

 

 

The fat from the beef gives the chili a distinctively more robust flavor. The turkey is leaner and gives a milder flavor. I often use turkey for meat loaf, although it does come out a bit dryer than the beef version. Therefor I try to use alot of moisture retentive veggies in my turkey meatloaf.

[+ deej]

Chop some bacon and fry it before adding in the ground turkey. The rendered fat will add some of the flavor the lack of fat in the turkey brings to the mix. (And, really, what's not to like about bacon?)

[mike carey]

Totally interchangeable. I haven't made chili with it but in other recipes using ground meat I'll happily use beef, lamb, veal, pork or turkey. Chicken not so much, but it works for making burgers. I'd probably use sweet chili or teriyaki sauce on them rather than ketchup and/or mustard. (Maybe dijon mustard rather than American.)

[+ Topseed]

I've used ground turkey for years in my chili. Works great.

[seaboy4hire]

Toss it! Ground turkey is utter crap! It is dry and flavorless.

 

Hugs,

Greg

[Nvr2Thick]

I find turkey chili to be a bit bland compared to chili with ground beef. Some things that help:

 

• Grind up sweet turkey sausage instead of just ground turkey.
  
• Increase the spices: 50% more garlic, 25% - 50% more chili powder, 25% more cayenne.
  
• Increase the peppers: If you're using red or green peppers, chop up one more. If you're using a spicy pepper such as jalapeño, put in another one.
  
• Add all the spices to the meat when you're browning it. Once the meat is mostly browned I usually drain off the grease then put in the spices and cook them into the meat. This includes the garlic.
  
• Some people like to brown the onions with the meat as well.
  
• Compromise: Go with 50% turkey and 50% pork or beef.
  

[+ Gar1eth]

Toss it! Ground turkey is utter crap! It is dry and flavorless.

 

Hugs,

Greg

 

Don't beat around the bush, @seaboy4hire. Tell us how you really feel!!!

 

Gman

[curiousnomore]

Blasphemy!!!

 

Do what works for you, though. Just name it something else lol.

[seaboy4hire]

Don't beat around the bush, @seaboy4hire. Tell us how you really feel!!!

 

Gman

 

You've been around long enough. When have you known me to beat around the bush around these parts lol

 

Hugs,

Greg

[seaboy4hire]

If you were in Chicago I'd direct you to Morse market where you could some chicken sauseage that is super yum!

 

Hugs,

Greg

[+ Gar1eth]

I just took a closer look at the turkey package. It's only 1-1/4 pound. The chili mix I use-yes, I use a mix. It's Carroll Shelby's mix. I've made it multiple times. It's always been good. The last time it was still good, but I think I added a bit too much salt.

 

Anyway the mix is designed for 2 pounds of meat. Anyone think using the 1-1/4 quarter pound of turkey and adding a pound of ground beef to it would be bad?

 

Gman

[amused1]

From my experience it depends upon the type of recipe you use. If you use beef broth then add a bit of fat, either bacon or a bit of lard. It adds to the "mouth feel".

 

If you are a tomato base only person. Sauce, juice or chopped (fresh or canned) add some fat and either soy sauce or a bit of fish sauce to boost the flavor.

 

In either case, I generally increase the cumin and peppers a bit to add flavor.

 

The texture should be fine. Brown properly to reduce moisture that is often added to ground turkey to make up for the lack of fat.

 

Side note, I find ground turkey to be great in tacos. All the fixings cover any flaws.

[+ Gar1eth]

@curiousnomore -I assume you are disliking the use of turkey in chili.

 

Whoops-@Nvr2Thick-I'm sorry I wasn't ignoring your post. I thought I had read a suggestion about mixing meats. But when I went back to read this thread, I couldn't find it.

 

Gman

[curiousnomore]

If I could make it to Chicago without cancelling other plans, I'd be there.

[+ Gar1eth]

If I could make it to Chicago without cancelling other plans, I'd be there.

But I'm making the chili in Tacoma.

 

Gman

[curiousnomore]

Yes, Gareth.

But too each his own lol..

Beef is a Required ingredient for me.

[amused1]

Mixing the two works great. Slightly more healthy protein with minimal loss of flavor.

[amused1]

If the mix calls for water, you might try low sodium beef broth to boost flavor while keeping healthier.

[rvwnsd]

I usually use a combination of ground turkey, ground chicken, and turkey italian sausage. Given you have 1.25 lbs of turkey and a seasoning mix that requires 2 lbs of ground meat, you could add a pound of turkey italian sausage. The key to avoiding dry and flavorless turkey is to add some garlic when you brown the meat, brown for less time than you would beef, and when it is still slightly pink stop browning, drain the liquid (it will be a combination of fat and retained water) and add a small can of tomato sauce and some additional garlic. THEN Add the meat to the remaining ingredients.

[Justice]

I make ground turkey chili all the time. I sauté a chopped onion for a about five minutes, add a lot of chopped garlic and continue sautéing for an other couple minutes. I add ground turkey and start to brown that. I add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a teaspoon of chili powder, a half a teaspoon of cumin, a half a teaspoon of cinnamon, a couple of grinds of black pepper, a couple of dashes of dried oregano, a bay leaf, a chopped jalapeno, a can of crushed tomatoes (I fill the empty can a little more than halfway with water, swish that around, and add the water tomato mixture to the pot) a can of rinsed and drained black beans, a can of rinsed and drained red kidney beans, some chopped cilantro and some chopped Italian parsley. (You can add some salt to taste; I never use salt.) I simmer for at 45 minutes and serve it over white rice. (I've made this same recipe using ground beef. I like it either way.) Enjoy.

[body2body]

When using ground Turkey for Chili, make sure you buy the kind made from ground dark meat (usually about 7% fat content). Ground Turkey Breast will result in the meat being drier than a popcorn fart. The other key is to brown it to the point where it forms a brown crust (at least on one side). I also add the Chili Powder ( I prefer Gebhardt's) and ground Cumin to the Turkey before adding onions, celery, and peppers, and the rest of your ingredients. By carmelizing the meat you will intensify the flavor of the turkey and impart it to the sauce. If you are using a recipe that you have traditionally made with Beef, make sure to check and adjust your seasoning as you go.

[+ Gar1eth]

I usually use a combination of ground turkey, ground chicken, and turkey italian sausage. Given you have 1.25 lbs of turkey and a seasoning mix that requires 2 lbs of ground meat, you could add a pound of turkey italian sausage. The key to avoiding dry and flavorless turkey is to add some garlic when you brown the meat, brown for less time than you would beef, and when it is still slightly pink stop browning, drain the liquid (it will be a combination of fat and retained water) and add a small can of tomato sauce and some additional garlic. THEN Add the meat to the remaining ingredients.

When using ground Turkey for Chili, make sure you buy the kind made from ground dark meat (usually about 7% fat content). Ground Turkey Breast will result in the meat being drier than a popcorn fart. The other key is to brown it to the point where it forms a brown crust (at least on one side). I also add the Chili Powder ( I prefer Gebhardt's) and ground Cumin to the Turkey before adding onions, celery, and peppers, and the rest of your ingredients. By carmelizing the meat you will intensify the flavor of the turkey and impart it to the sauce. If you are using a recipe that you have traditionally made with Beef, make sure to check and adjust your seasoning as you go.

 

Danger!! Danger!!! Will Robinson!!!! Oh no-I have conflicting viewpoints.

 

I like a lot of your suggestions, @rvwnsd. But you are telling me to leave the turkey mildly pink-and I'm going to have to say nay to that. I'm sorry that grosses me out. I'm a medium well to well-done kind of guy (y'all should have seen the chicken legs I baked yesterday. I had had the package defrosting in the fridge for three or four days, and there were still ice crystals in it. The legs felt minimally frozen still. The recipe said 425 for 40-50 minutes. I looked up another recipe that said if legs were frozen to increase the time to an hour and 20 minutes. So that's what I did. They were a bit on the done side. Ok for me-but I wouldn't have served them to company. )

 

And @body2body says brown the meat deeply to carmelize it. A lot of the spices you mentioned are in the chili mix. But I usually add a lot of garlic powder as well as paprika. Plus there is a package of cayenne in the mix. I use one can tomato sauce -and then I'll probably use either diced or stewed tomatoes instead of water. I have to tell you though, @body2body that lips that eat cinnamon (or chocolate although you didn't mention it) and beans in chili will never touch mine. (I'm sure many of y'all are ecstatically jumping for joy at that pronouncement!!)

 

Gman

[mike carey]

But you are telling me to leave the turkey mildly pink-and I'm going to have to say nay to that.

And @body2body says brown the meat deeply to carmelize it.

No, no, no, he said stop browning it when it's slightly pink so that it dries out less. You then cook it thoroughly with all the other ingredients so it will more than meet your 'cook well' requirements.

 

Browning till it caramelises is to achieve a different effect of giving the final result the browned colour. That may mean that it dries out, although stopping the stirring and letting it caramelise on one side should stop it drying out too much. Adding soy sauce can also help with the colour.

[Bearofdistinction]

The fat from the beef gives the chili a distinctively more robust flavor. The turkey is leaner and gives a milder flavor. I often use turkey for meat loaf, although it does come out a bit dryer than the beef version. Therefor I try to use alot of moisture retentive veggies in my turkey meatloaf.

 

 

 

Try adding egg whites and oatmeal as both moisture and a binder for your turkey meatloaf.

I shred yellow and red onion into mine === onion liquefies as you grate it --- also finely shredding carrots and add shredded zucchini - it works well