At River City Cafe we offer three types of Burgers: Beef, Chicken, and Turkey. For this month’s blog, let’s talk about turkey burgers. With the lower fat content, perfect blend of spices, lower cholesterol levels, and an excellent source of good vitamins, turkey burgers are a great alternative to standard beef burgers.

There does seem to be an all-out war between turkey burger enthusiasts and beef burger purists. But at River City Cafe we are happy to through either option on the grill for you!

Most of the controversy comes from beef lovers claiming turkey burgers are dry. This isn’t an unfounded complaint. Since turkey has a lower fat content, the meat does tend to be dryer. However, that is easily remedied using spices and toppings. Some creators have even diced up vegetables to mix in with the ground turkey. You could also use ground dark meat, but then you lose the health benefits of it being lower in fat.

The flip side is turkey burger lovers claim that beef burgers are unhealthy and fattening. Again, this is an easily solved problem. Simply use ground sirloin or beef that is 90% lean. You aren’t going to get that greasy, drippy goodness that you expect from a typical 80/20 patty, but you can find a “healthier” beef burger option.

Turkey burgers are not a new fad. They could be found in California restaurants as early as 1938. We have Robert Baker to thank for the invention of the Turkey Burger. He was also responsible for creating Chicken Nuggets and Cornell BBQ. He was a pretty important guy! He receives a lot of praise for his creation, even though he earned almost no money from it.

Just like many meat products, storing turkey pre-World War II was a challenge so it wasn’t a common thing to see in most restaurants. But as boneless turkey rolls became available in the 1950s, turkey dinner specials became much more commonplace. However, there wasn’t much they could do with turkey. There just weren’t that many turkey dishes at the time and something had to be developed for the leftovers that were too small to use on the dinner specials. So, the turkey burger was born!

Some reasons you may want to choose a turkey burger over a beef burger are:

  1. Turkey can have fewer calories
  2. Turkey has the same amount of protein
  3. There is less saturated fat in Turkey.
  4. Turkey has far less sodium…..unless you use a lot of salt in your turkey burger blend.
  5. If you are trying to lose weight, fat-free ground turkey may be the best choice.

At River City Cafe you have options for your turkey burger. All of our turkey burgers start as fresh ground turkey that is hand pattied, but you have the choice of adding some cajun spice before we toss it on the grill. A perfectly toasted wheat bun is waiting for your delicious turkey burger to come off the grill and can be dressed with your choice of toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, and mayo.

I know what you are thinking. We have all these wild combinations for our beef burgers and the only things we offer for our turkey burgers are lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, and mayo? Never fear. Do you want the Cheese Lovers Burger, but want the turkey burger instead? We can do that. Craving a Shoestring Burger, but you want the Turkey Burger too? Get the Shoestring Burger and ask for turkey instead of beef.

At River City Cafe we are all about the burger…. Beef, Turkey, or Chicken! We love burgers and burger creations and we love serving them to you. If you have never tried a Turkey Burger, River City Cafe has the burger for you.

 

Are you curious about our burger creations? Check out our menu here.

 

One of these is not like the other? That is correct, our Chicken Burgers feature a fresh chicken breast marinated in our homemade pineapple soy blend. You can read more about them here.