Can be easily substituted directly for ground beef in chili. My ex would not eat red meat for personal reasons (poultry was fine) and I sub'd ground turkey routinely for just about any recipe that called for ground beef - chili, meatloaf, meatballs, casseroles, etc. It is not as flavorful as ground beef so you might need to up the seasonings. It is also a bit drier when cooked so keep an eye on liquid additions and adjust as necessary.

Turkey will be drier, so take that into account in some recipes.

You also have to be sure it is thoroughly cooked, which depending on your lamb or beef source, is not so critical.

For chili, it should not be a problem, since it has wet ingredients. When I use it for making meatloaf or meatballs, I generally add mushrooms and a panade, but if I am using dried mushrooms, I use the soaking water for the panade instead of milk.

Thanks! So, I am thinking that chili would be a good candidate because it has a nice amount of liquid already as part of the recipe.

Definitely good for chili. As gardengal said, pump up the seasoning when it comes to ground turkey.

I would think so. One of the best meals hubby had while in the hospital was a turkey chili. It was so flavourful with lots of seasonings and spices.

I agree, ground turkey is a perfectly acceptable substitute for ground beef in chili. I've used ground turkey, ground chicken, ground venison, ground bison, even ground moose or bear in chili. The seasonings are easily adjustable to suit your tastes and my chili is never the same twice anyway.

Annie

Dark turkey makes a better sub than light because it has so much more flavor.

Personally, I like to reconfigure most recipes when using poultry rather than beef, and my turkey meatballs, meatfloaf, burgers, etc., are really very different from beef recipes, but my chili, other than pumping it up a little with the spices, is almost identical. My favorite, however, is to use a third light turkey, a third dark turkey and a third beef.

I always use half ground beef and half turkey when I make regular chili. Started doing that when beef got so expensive. Almost as good as all beef chili plus I don't drain the fat (use 80% lean ground beef). If I used all beef, I would drain the fat so the half & half combo saves a step since I don't mind some fat.

Also, I make a turkey-quinoa chili that everyone likes. All turkey in this recipe:

30 Minute Turkey Quinoa Chili

I use ground turkey or beef interchangeably. Just add about a 1/4 of cup of worchestire (sp?) sauce to a pound of turkey, gives it a beefy taste. We like onions, so I always add a small diced onion for added moisture. Salsa mixed in to turkey burgers works great .

I don't care for ground white meat turkey - too dry - but I do like the regular ground turkey.

I sub turkey for dishes that call for pork too.

it's pretty good in lasagna too

I use it for meatballs and like Lars, I add button mushrooms chopped fine in the food processor. They add moisture and tenderness. I always add some beef or garlic Better than Bouillon concentrate. It adds depth of flavor and some seasoning/saltiness.

What is the reason exactly for using ground turkey? Personally I find it a bit off-putting in those foam packages puffy and looking factory extruded. And not a bargain. I've never purchased and never will. If it is a dietary decision from some doctor with no real knowledge about food quality/healthy heart eating and weight issues, still not necessary. Just get good quality organic proteins and eat less. Skip the sugary desserts and move. Embrace the weather and take a walk.

Comparables have shown that it is not at all different than lean ground beef. Or just consume an ounce less. I just see some 'wool pullin' over eyes' and advertising convincing the public that it is a better choice.

Not fooling me.

I would rather braise a boneless skinless chicken thigh and roast in the oven with a sesame miso glaze, or a smoked/grilled spatchcocked chicken for a few meals throughout the week making stock and lunches...than grind chicken for sausage or turkey for chili.

My Dad buys turkey bacon that tastes like hot dog and chicken sausage that is rather bland and dry...but, "don't tell your mother. she thinks it is a healthy option"....

He knows it is junk but would not have his 'treats' otherwise.

Some of us actually like the taste of turkey. I don't buy any meat if the package is puffed up.

And some, for whatever reason, prefer to avoid "red" meat or that derived from mammals.....and yet do not wish to forgo the occasional burger or chili or meatloaf. Ground turkey makes all those options very easy.

I will say that turkey bacon is a pretty poor excuse for the real thing. I am very glad my ex's bizarre dietary preferences no longer limit me to that pitiful option!! Real bacon is one of the joys of life :-)

People with heart issues like me should cut down on red meat. So that's another reason for the substitution.

Turkey jerky, smoked turkey, my favorites.

dcarch.

I buy it in frozen 1# chubs from Aldi. Not the over-priced designer ground turkey in the fresh meat case.

$1.19# vs =/- $4# for ground beef.

Since then, beef has come down a bit in price and the turkey is now $1.39#.

Forgot to say that I add some Marmite or Vegemite and a bit of Worcestershire sauce when I sub it for beef.

I agree about the offputting foam packages. My butcher has fresh in the case, and will also grind to order.

As I said before, most of my recipes for ground poultry are quite different from the ones for ground beef. They're good! But they're not trying to be substitute beef. I never liked it when my mother tried that when I was a teen.

Total agreement on turkey bacon, except I think it tastes like salty cardboard. I've heard very good things about goose bacon and goose ham, but I haven't seen it, let alone tasting. But that's for "non-pig" not for lean or healthy or cheap. ;)

Puffed up pkgs of ground turkey are safe to use. MAP--modified air packaging--to extend the shelf life of the product. So, the puffed up package is supposed to be a good thing but it sure is off-putting because one automatically thinks it's puffed up because it's decomposing.

I prefer using the Aldi frozen chubs. Cheaper, take up less space in the freezer, don't need to re-package the meat in vacuum bags and, I feel a little more comfortable buying an already frozen ground poultry product. 'Presumably', the meat was flash frozen soon after having been ground (no way to know for sure, though) and hasn't been sitting in an open air meat case for hours.

Case in point, coincidentally, I'd decided to use ground chicken for adding meat to pumpkin lasagna to have a higher protein percentage. The mild flavor, I thought, would be good for keeping the rest in balance. I cooked it up with some pancetta (it was ultralean chicken), S&P, dried oregano and marjoram to have a hint of Italian, as well as chipotle powder and ground allspice to go with the pumpkin. I haven't made the lasagna yet (getting ingredients ready and chilled) but used some of the extra for dinner, sort of sloppy joe style, but with tasty cheese instead of sauce. Really good! I expect it to be good in the lasagna. Ground chicken (or turkey) doesn't have to be pretend beef. It's good as ground chicken!

I was thinking about the extruded thing too. I agree it looks offputting. But as I was cooking up my chicken, which was from the store, but I have ground my own and the texture is the same, I recalled how gooshy it is. It's not textury like ground beef. Turkey isn't much different. So I'm thinking why extruded looking? Because they can precisely fill the trays and have it cut off at an exact weight probably! It's basically coming through a mechanical piping bag, or narrow sausage stuffer. That's my guess anyway. I don't like the beef version, which I have tried a couple of times, because it wants to stay worm shaped. Ground poultry seems too gooshy for that to be an issue. Or not? What do you think?

I'm guessing they extrude chicken and turkey vey cold or partially frozen? Curious why when I grind chicken it is very gooey. (we make our dogs food). Often it is partially frozen and does come out 'wormy' most of the time. Beef is always a good texture.

We grind every three weeks and grind our beef for burgers and frozen packets for misc needs before the pups chicken for sanitary reasons.

Another salmonella outbreak just heard on the radio tonights commute...poultry.

I've been staying away from ground poultry since I read somewhere that they included the skin in grinding. But I don't know if that is really true. Anyone know?

So....the Aldi version is really good?

If it's called "ground turkey" it probably has the skin and fat in it. If it's called "ground turkey meat" it is only supposed to have the meat in it, no skin/fat.

From the USDA:

Q What cuts of poultry are permitted in
ground poultry products?

A. The National Turkey Federation (NTF) has prepared
guidelines for identifying “ground poultry” with which
USDA is in general agreement. In essence, according
to these guidelines, when a product is labeled as
“ground (kind)” (for example, “ground turkey”), it is
manufactured from whole muscle material such as
drumstick, thighs, neck, etc., with all components, e.g.
skin and adhering fat, in natural proportions, and the
final product has a “ground” form as it emerges from
the processing machinery.

Q. What are the labeling requirements for
ground poultry?

A. Producers are not required to identify the cuts
of poultry used for grinding on the label. If cuts are
identified, only those cuts can appear in the product.
Ground poultry can contain only muscle meat and skin
with attached fat in natural proportions, and not other
components, such as giblets. “Ground (kind)” meat
means no skin is included. A package that is labeled
“ground turkey meat” is just that — ground muscle
meat with no skin included.