Healthiest Meat for Burgers

The percentage or ratio listed on
ground meat is the amount of
lean meat vs fat.

When I was a teenager, I stopped eating red meat and subsequently learned how to make an amazing turkey burger (see recipe below), thinking that I was being healthier, but when I made it for my uber-healthy husband, he questioned my choice of meats. 
Ground meat is made up of lean meat and fat and the amount of each is printed on the package (e.g. 80/20).  For turkey, the lean meat is the breast, but for those who love turkey on Thanksgiving, you know that the dark meat is greasier and more flavorful because it is fattier.  So if the fat gives the flavor and you want a flavorful burger, should you not purchase the 80/20 beef, as the hamburger-giant Mc Donald's does?  Not necessarily.
Most of us do not just throw our raw hamburger on the grill; we season it first so that we are not reliant upon the meat as the only flavor and then at the table we disguise the meat further with condiments.  So for the gains in health that can be made by sacrificing a little meat flavor that is regained in other ways, a leaner meat will probably never be noticed.  Consider the below:

4oz serving size	Lean/Fat	Calories	Calories from Fat	Fat (in grams)	Saturated Fat	Cholesterol (mg) (%DV)	Protein (g)
Ground Beef	80/20	304	180	20	8	100 (32%)	21
	90/10	196	85	12	4	72 (24%)	24
	95/5	152	52	5.6	2.52	68 (24%)	24
Ground Turkey	85/15	240	150	17	4.5	85 (28%)	20
	93/7	190	70	13	2.5	80 (27%)	21
	99/1	120	9	1	0	70 (23%)	28

So what does all of this mean?  The first column of numbers is the ratio of lean meat to fat, which is what appears on the package.  The second is the number of calories in a 4oz patty, which is cut in half between the fattiest and leanest cuts of each meat.  In the Saturated Fat column, which is the fat associated with raising your "bad" cholesterol level, you see a sizeable drop as the meat become leaner, but where numbers stay higher is in the cholesterol, which is expressed in milligrams and as a percent of the recommended daily value.

What you learn is that there is no clear winner between turkey and beef, but that there is a deafening call for a leaner cut of whichever meat you prefer.  Personally, I like a turkey burger because it has a lighter taste that I can dress-up with other flavors that I like more than meat, and I would purchase the 93/7 ground turkey for my burgers, as for what all I would do to them....

Sweet Turkey Burger

1 package 93/7 ground turkey
1/2c minced purple onion
1/4c minced bell pepper
1/4c BBQ sauce
2T brown sugar
1/2t garlic salt
1/2t pepper  

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, form into patties and grill.  Serve open-face on a grill-toasted whole wheat or multi-grain bun with slices of fresh onion, tomato, avocado, jalapeno, spicy mustard and ketchup.