Chef's notes:
I have to give Whole Foods props here. Their fresh ground white and dark turkey meat is what inspired me to create this recipe. I stood there in front of the poultry case looking at those two contrasting ground meats and realized that here was an opportunity to make something that looked very cool. I recollected back to a time when I was working as a baker in a German kitchen. Between baking Schwarzbrot and Sachertorte I also sometimes made Marmorkuchen, i.e., marble cake. I naturally realized that not only could the dark and light meats be kept separate, but they could also be seasoned differently. The result made for a very attractive and also flavorful turkey meatloaf.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey breast
- ¼ cup fine minced onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 Tbsp bread crumbs
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp minced parsley
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- Pinch of cayenne
Turkey Meatloaf Recipe: White and Dark Ground Turkey Swirled Together into a Marbled Turkey Meatloaf
- Pick up your ground meats. Find some ground turkey breast and some ground turkey thigh. Most grocery stores are carrying these now. They may not be fresh-ground but they will work just fine. Another thing you will want to get ready is the caramelized ¼ cup of onion for the dark turkey mixture. Do this by cooking it with 2 tablespoons of butter until a light brown.
- Mix the ground turkey up separately. Use the recipes that I’ve written for the two separate ground turkey mixtures. Add the caramelized onions to the dark meat when they’ve cooled a little. Also, make sure to mince the raw onions extra-fine for the white meat so that they melt away into the meat when it cooks.
- Assemble the turkey meatloaf. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lay a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on the counter and spray it with a bit of pan spray or rub it with oil. Put the dark meat layer down first and smooth it out into a sheet using a rubber spatula. Then spread the white meat out and roll the meat into a tube.
- Bake the turkey meatloaf. Fold the ends of the aluminum foil in to secure the tube. Place the turkey meatloaf on a baking sheet and into the 350 degree preheated oven for 30‒40 minutes until an instant read digital thermometer reads 160 degrees F in the center. Let the turkey meatloaf rest for 10 minutes before you slice and serve it.
Tips & Tricks
- You can substitute ground chicken if you are having trouble finding ground turkey.
- Use a heavy-duty aluminum foil or double wrap with the regular stuff.
- You can also make the meatloaf in a sprayed bread loaf pan. Use an ice cream scoop and drop balls of the mixtures into the pan, alternating light and dark.
Dark Meat Recipe
- 1 pound ground turkey thigh
- ¼ cup onion minced (caramelized in 2 Tbsp of butter)
- 2 Tbsp bread crumbs
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp herbes
