I love to use meatballs in various recipes, does anyone know if you can mix ground beef and turkey?

Question

I know people will mix beef and pork for recipes like cabbage rolls, but I like the flavor of the beef just not the fat. I have used extra lean chicken and turkey and added beef boullion or oxo to enhance the flavor but it's not the same. Even using extra lean beef I still find there is so much fat....does any one have any tips or suggestions, or know if its safe to mix the beef and poulrty. Thanks so much for any help.

Answer 1

Of course you can! It is a great idea to cut fat but still retain some moisture with the ground beef. Ground turkey, or chicken for that matter, has very little fat and can become dry on its own. Adding the ground beef will help keep it moist and delicious. If you were using all beef it wouldn't be necessary to cook the meatballs to well done. Since you are using poultry, you must cook them all the way through. Make extra sure you wash your hands, utensils, bowls and anything that came into contact with the meat mixture thoroughly to reduce the risk of salmonella. I would use 1/2 lean ground beef and 1/2 ground turkey. Fine, dry and seasoned breadcrumbs can be added for texture and flavor. If they are too dry add an egg and adjust the amount of crumbs. Add the seasonings you favor. Happy cooking!

Answer 2

It should be fine, but the flavor will be different. Make sure to check the fat content on the ground turkey because sometimes it isn't as low fat as you would think. On the other hand, you should be able to buy ground beef as low as 98% fat free. You could also try bison or ostrich, both of which are generally lower in fat than beef.

Answer 3

Ground beef does contain that percentage of fat, but alot of the flavor of hamburger comes from that fat content. Just cook/brown the ground beef and drain off the fat. If you would have a recipe that doesn't allow for pre-cooked beef, get ground sirloin from the butcher. And tell him to trim all the fat first, before grinding, to keep fat content as low as possible.

I would stay clear of trying to combine turkey with ground beef, mainly because of the chances of cross contamination and the poultry's inherent chances of salmonella content.

Answer 4

Of course you can mix turkey and beef. You can make all turkey meatballs if you want to. The dark ground turkey works best. If you use ground breasts it doesnt have a good consistency.

After having said that...I am now a vegetarian so I think you should not make these meatballs. :( But if you insist, this is the best advice I can give you.

Answer 5

THe only suggestion I have is to go for the beef/turkey mixture. I've made turkey meatballs before & they are absolutely yummy. The only thing missing in the mixed meatball is all the fat.

Answer 6

I see them do stuff like that all the time on the Food Network, but of course as a vegatarian, allow me to suggest Morningstar Farms® Meal Starters™ Grillers® Recipe Crumbles™ for your recipe.

Answer 7

As long as the meat is thoroughly cooked, why not.
I've never heard of lots of fat in extra-lean beef.

Answer 8

You can mix anything together, just unaware of the result. But in this case you can mix beef and turkey together. iTs really good!

Answer 9

Yes, of course it is okay since you will be cooking the meatballs thoroughly. If you are using dry bouillon for flavoring, be sure you don't add any additional salt....try using various herbs to season with, instead.

Answer 10

Yes you can. Making ground beef and ground turkey burgers is good too.