Pulled Turkey Burger with Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
Let the slow cooker do the hard work for you in this tasty pulled turkey recipe as featured on BBC's Eat Well For Less. Here, it's served with perfectly crispy sweet potato fries but you can serve with pasta or steamed rice too.
From the book
Eat Well for Less: Happy & Healthy
80 nutritious and flavourful recipes for everyday cooking.
Find recipes and meal planners, as well as money and time-saving tips.
Filling breakfasts, low-effort lunches and plenty of dinner ideas for the whole family.
Introduction
Slow cookers are traditionally used for stews, but they work well for large joints too. Strip the turkey meat from the bones and stir back through the sauce for an easy pulled turkey. Serve any leftover meat with some steamed rice or pasta.
Ingredients
| For the turkey (makes 15 portions): | |
|---|---|
| 2 | red onions, sliced |
| 2.5kg | turkey bone-in thigh joints |
| 100g | reduced-salt and -sugar brown sauce |
| 50ml | cider vinegar |
| 1 tbsp | sweet smoked paprika |
| 50g | clear honey |
| freshly ground black pepper, to taste | |
| For the sweet potato fries: | |
| 1 | egg white |
| 3 | medium-sized sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into batons 1cm thick |
| 60g | panko breadcrumbs |
| ½ tsp | smoked paprika |
| To serve: | |
| 3 | small burger buns, split in half |
| ½ | Little Gem lettuce, leaves separated |
| 2 | medium tomatoes, sliced |
| 3 | gherkins, sliced |
Essential kit
You will need: a slow cooker
Method
Cook time: 6-10 hours.
Preheat the slow cooker on the high setting, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Tip the onions into the slow cooker, then place the turkey joints on top. Season well with black pepper.
Pour the brown sauce into a small bowl, add the vinegar, smoked paprika and honey and mix well until smooth. Pour over the turkey then cover with the lid.
Leave the setting on high or turn it down to low, then leave the turkey to cook for 6–8 hours on high, or for 8–10 hours on low.
When the turkey has 45 minutes left to cook, prepare the sweet potato fries.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan/Gas 7 and line 1 large or 2 medium baking trays with baking parchment.
Tip the egg white into a bowl and whisk with a fork until just foamy. Toss the sweet potato batons in the egg white until coated all over.
Tip the breadcrumbs, smoked paprika and plenty of black pepper into a separate bowl and mix well. Add the sweet potato batons a few at a time and coat in the crumbs then place on the lined baking tray/s.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, turning the fries halfway through, until golden and tender.
When the turkey is ready, remove from the slow cooker, discard the skin and pull out the bones. Return to the cooker and shred the meat into small strands, using a fork and spoon. Mix with the cooked onions and sauce until totally coated.
Lay the bottom half of the burger buns on serving plates. Add the lettuce and tomato, then add a generous 2 spoonfuls (about 150g) of pulled turkey on top. Top with the gherkins and the top half of the bun. Serve the fries alongside.
Tip: Decant the remaining turkey into sealable containers – you will have about 12 portions. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to the fridge, where it will keep for 3 days, or transfer to the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, transfer to a heatproof bowl, cover with kitchen paper and heat on high in the microwave for 2 minutes, then stir well.
