Creating a Flavorful Turkey Burger Takes Lots of "Seasoning"

We’re all looking for healthier alternatives to fatty, calorie-rich foods. Well, at least some of us are. A great alternative to a greasy hamburger – though every so often, it’s the only thing that can satisfy our specific hunger – is the turkey burger.

Much unlike their roasted counterpart, turkey burgers can end up as dry pieces of meat with very little flavor – kind of like a beige hockey puck. in Grosse Pointe Woods defies that tough, dry option by grilling up a juicy turkey burger that is high in flavor and satisfaction.

“I think the reason for it is our well-seasoned grill,” said Mack Ave. Diner owner Cheryl Mehr. “The older the grill, the better the burger.”

Mehr estimates that her grill is at least 25 years old. Grills such as this are never cleaned with soap, but instead with a grill brick that pulls the food from the grill but leaves a thin layer of oil behind. It’s that oil, Mehr believes, that adds that distinct and unidentifiable flavor that makes the Mack Avenue turkey burger one of the best in the Pointes.

“That’s one of the reasons you can’t make a turkey burger like ours at home,” she said. “All we use in the burger is ground turkey and our seasoning.”

The Diner’s special seasoning is a combination of kosher salt, Lawry’s season salt and a dash of Mrs. Dash. Mix that into the ground turkey, form into paddies and cook on a griddle in the house or on the barbeque outside. Your turkey burger may not have that extra-special flavor that the ones from Mack Avenue Diner has, but it will sure come close.