Ground Turkey Versus Ground Beef

Ground Turkey versus Ground Beef: What's the Difference?
I stopped eating ground beef because I thought it was unhealthy and switched to ground turkey instead. For my husband, ground turkey versus ground beef does not apply. He's strictly a beef man. So I always prepare two separate ground meat dishes. But I began to wonder, is the extra effort worth it?

Here is my view on ground turkey versus ground beef.

Ground Turkey versus Ground Beef: Nutritional Content
From reading the labels on the packages I discovered that lean ground beef and ground turkey are almost identical nutrition wise. Both have 8 grams of fat, 85 mg of sodium, 22 grams of protein, and 10% iron. Also, they both have 160 calories. And surprisingly, the turkey has 10 more grams of cholesterol than lean ground beef.

Ground Turkey versus Ground Beef: Taste
Hands down ground beef is more flavorful than its bland counterpart. You have to add a lot of seasoning to ground turkey to make it tasty. Ground beef on the other hand already has a "beefy" taste. So just adding a little seasoning brings out the natural flavors.

To compensate for the lack of flavor in ground turkey I usually season it heavily with seasoning salt and then dice and add: 1 small onion, 1 bell pepper, and several cloves of garlic.

Ground Turkey versus Ground Beef: Price
At my local Wal-Mart the ground turkey is the winner as far as price goes. A 1 lb bullet cost $1.67 and the lean ground beef is always over $2 per pound.

Ground Turkey versus Ground Beef: Cooking
As far as how you use ground meat, both the beef and the turkey are completely interchangeable. You fry them the same and can use either one in any recipe that calls for ground meat.

Ground Turkey versus Ground Beef: And the winner is?
From a nutritional standpoint there is almost no difference. And everything else is pretty much a draw. Lean ground beef costs a little more but lean ground turkey takes a little more time to prepare - chopping onions, peppers, and garlic - to make it tasty.