Turkey and Sausage Boulettes
Isn't true that some of the best dishes are the simplest ones? Here is one of my favorite ones, "boulettes" or meat patties. As we never have turkey at our house with the exception of Thanksgiving, I decided to use ground turkey and sausage meat instead of the usual ground veal or beef to make the patties. While I was experimenting with new meats, I added mushrooms to the onions to the mix. The combination was quite light and tasty. The sausage meat added a nice flavor to the turkey and was not dry at all. Instead of making the patties, the below recipe may be made into a meatloaf. Our staples rosemary potatoes and green salad were enjoyed by all. TIP: Taste the meat mixture before adding more pepper. Some sausage meats have more pepper than others, and too much pepper can overpower the flavor. Placing the meat mixture in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes will solidify the whole and make it more manageable when rolled. Bon Appetit!
Isn't true that some of the best dishes are the simplest ones? Here is one of my favorite ones, "boulettes" or meat patties. As we never have turkey at our house with the exception of Thanksgiving, I decided to use ground turkey and sausage meat instead of the usual ground veal or beef to make the patties. While I was experimenting with new meats, I added mushrooms to the onions to the mix. The combination was quite light and tasty. The sausage meat added a nice flavor to the turkey and was not dry at all. Instead of making the patties, the below recipe may be made into a meatloaf. Our staples rosemary potatoes and green salad were enjoyed by all. TIP: Taste the meat mixture before adding more pepper. Some sausage meats have more pepper than others, and too much pepper can overpower the flavor. Placing the meat mixture in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes will solidify the whole and make it more manageable when rolled. Bon Appetit!
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- oil for frying
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 slices of stale bread cut into cubes
- 3/4 cup milk
- 4 large white mushrooms cleaned, stem removed and sliced thinly
- 1 pound sausage meat
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cognac (optional)
- breadcrumbs
- Carbohydrate 6.36491887326406 g
- Cholesterol 145.837630652831 mg
- Fat 26.1404569409769 g
- Fiber 0.586105255183392 g
- Protein 33.6481467338134 g
- Saturated Fat 10.0381279615825 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (218g)
- Sodium 616.234721081245 mg
- Sugar 5.77881361808067 g
- Trans Fat 3.55226911340771 g
- Calories 403 calories
Step-by-step
- Soak the bread in the milk.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat warm the oil. Add the onion and cook stirring for about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the parsley and cook 5 minutes or until there is no more juices running from the mushrooms.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the turkey and the sausage meat.
- Add the egg, parmesan cheese, sage, squeeze the milk out of the bread and add the bread to the meat mixture.
- Add the onion mixture and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Mix everything together until the bread is well worked in and the vegetables are evenly distributed.
- Place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to solidify.
- With your hands form individual meat “boulettes†or patties. Roll them on the bread crumbs and place them on a large piece of parchment paper.
- In a very large skillet over medium high heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot but not burning, sauté the meat until golden brown and no juices are running out when slightly pressed down.
- Remove from the pan and place on paper towel before serving.
While classic meatballs rely heavily on beef or veal for their moisture content, this variant shifts toward lean ground turkey paired with higher-fat sausage meat. Unlike traditional meatballs that are often dropped directly into simmering sauces to cook through, boulettes demand careful pan-frying to achieve a distinct exterior crust while maintaining a yielding interior. Achieving the right bite requires an understanding of how proteins and moisture binders interact during mixing and cooking. When poultry is overworked, the muscle fibers tighten and squeeze out internal hydration, resulting in a dense, rubbery chew that ruins the dish.
The Science of Softness and Structure
Incorporating dairy-soaked bread creates a classic panade, a paste that traps moisture within the ground meat matrix so the lean turkey proteins cannot bind too tightly together during the application of heat. Squeezing the excess milk from the stale bread prevents the mixture from becoming too wet to hold a shape, ensuring the patties maintain structural integrity when transferred to the hot oil. Cooking the finely chopped mushrooms until all their natural juices evaporate is equally critical, because excess water introduced at this stage would steam the meat rather than allowing a proper crust to form. Chilling the combined mixture for ten minutes firms the animal fats, making the raw portions far easier to roll into uniform disks without sticking to your hands. Once the oil in your skillet reaches the optimal temperature where it shimmers without smoking, brown the patties until no pink remains and firm resistance signals doneness.
- If the mixture feels too tacky to roll after refrigeration, dust your palms lightly with flour rather than adding more breadcrumbs inside the bowl.
- Cooked boulettes can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days or frozen for two months, though they should be thawed completely before reheating gently in a 350-degree oven.
- Always taste a tiny fried sample of the raw seasoned meat before shaping the entire batch, as commercial sausage blends vary wildly in their pre-existing sodium and black pepper ratios.
