Kid-friendly Seasoned Turkey Fingers
Last week, I tried making my own turkey “fingers” for dinner, thinking that if they went over well, they’d be a good future lunch option for L. There was a humorous moment when I handed E his plate. He picked up one of the “fingers,” looked at it skeptically, and took a bite.
“Well?” I said after a moment. “How are they?”
“They’re good,” he said. “It’s just too bad they look like . . .”
Uh huh.
I had to laugh, because he was right. And I don’t know how you’d avoid it. But they are tasty. Delicious, in fact.
Actually, we figure the meat mixture would make a really good turkey burger, so next time, I’ll make burgers for us and “fingers” for L.
You can make a whole batch and freeze part of them to be cooked later (great if you have a toaster oven) for lunches, or even make a double batch.
Note: These are already dairy-free. To make them gluten-free, use GF bread crumbs.
Kid-friendly Seasoned Turkey Fingers
1 pound ground turkey (get the kind with the higher fat-to-lean ratio, so it’s not dry)
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher or fine grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with foil, and spray or brush the surface with olive oil.
Place 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the turkey, the remaining 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, garlic, salt, black pepper, cumin, and cayenne.
Use your hands to mix well, as you would meatloaf.
Form the mixture into “fingers,” each one a couple of inches long. (Tip: I used a cookie scoop to portion out how much meat mixture to use; this helped me keep the “fingers” uniform in size.)
As you finish shaping each “finger,” roll it in the reserved breadcrumbs so that it has a light coating. This will become nice and crunchy as they bake.
Place on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 5-10 minutes, until just cooked through.
Serve with ketchup, ranch dressing, barbecue sauce, or other dipping sauce of your choice.
Makes about 20 “fingers.”
Here’s the printable recipe.
Cheers,
