Build a better burger: poultry, fish, and beans make tasty and healthy alternatives to ground beef - Make it natural: a better way to cook

Natural Health, July, 2003 by Elizabeth Germain

LIKE A TRUE AMERICAN, I LOVE grilled hamburgers in the summertime. But I could live--live longer, in fact--without their high saturated fat content. So I decided to make delicious burgers from healthier protein sources--salmon, turkey, black beans, and quinoa. Not only do these alternatives contain less saturated fat than ground beef, they provide other nutrients you won't find in beef, like omega-3 fats and fiber. Best of all, these burgers boast such terrific flavors and textures that I never miss the real thing.

Make It Moist and Juicy

The way you chop the ingredients makes a big impact on the burger's texture and juiciness. You want them fine enough so the burger will hold together, but not too fine, or it will be dense, like a meatball. A sharp knife works best for the salmon, while a food processor does the best job for the black beans and quinoa. Turkey is easy; you can purchase it already ground.

Without the level of fat found in ground beef, these burgers need something to hold them together. Depending on how much moisture and fat the rest of your ingredients have, you can use wet ingredients like egg whites and skim milk ricotta or dry ingredients like bread crumbs and cornmeal as binders.

Grill It to Perfection

Like regular hamburgers, these burgers should develop a crisp brown crust and be perfectly cooked inside. For safety reasons, cook the salmon and turkey burgers until they are well done. The bean and grain burgers simply need to be hot all the way through.

A super-hot grill can cause the inside to overcook or the outside to burn, so go with a medium-hot grill. Resist the urge to press down on the burgers as they cook. You'll wind up with lost juices and dry burgers.

The stovetop offers an all-season alternative when you can't grill. Simply heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add all four burgers and cook for the same time as you would for the grilled burgers. To finish cooking the turkey burgers, place them in a preheated 400-degree oven after fully browning them on both sides. Use a pot lid to cover the black bean and quinoa burgers after you flip them.