[MindiV]

Ok...I've never cooked with ground chicken before, and I've FINALLY convinced my husband to give in and let me make something with it to see if he likes it. He's a total red meat fan, so this is a huge step.

I want to make some sort of chicken burger (you know...ease him in slowly by feeding him a burger)...but I can't seem to find any simple recipes that don't have enough crap added to them to make the patties as bad for you as a real burger.

Anyone have recipes to share?

[mandalinn82]

Not so much a recipe as a technique...remember that chicken, since it has less fat, needs something added to it to keep it moist. Did you buy ground chicken BREAST? If so, DOUBLE that amount of moisture-neediness...it'll dry right out.

I prevent this with:
Adding 1 tbsp of olive oil per lb of meat when I use ground chicken breast - yes, this adds fat to the burger, but it isn't as much fat as would be in ground beef and is the healthy fat...and adds only 30 calories per 4 oz portion.

Grating veggies into my meat mixture - I do this with meatloaf and burgers, and it doesn't really change the flavor, but prevents the burgers from drying out...grating an onion produces both onion pulp and onion juice - mix those into your burger mix and it'll help. I also finely grate zucchini and even carrot. During cooking, water from the produce evaporates, producing steam inside the burger, which prevents it from drying out.

Do not overcook! I use a meat thermometer and pull when -just- done. Otherwise, the meat dries out very quickly.

Use a sauce of some kind. Ketchup and BBQ sauce are classics (and they make sugar free BBQ sauce with splenda, if you're into that sort of thing), but I make up burger sauces depending on how I spice my meat...tzatzikis, mustard sauces, etc.

My favorite burger recipe involves making a meat mixture with veggies, then stuffing each 4 oz portion with a teaspoon or so of a mix of laughing cow cheeses, coarse grain mustard, and spices (Per 4 burgers, I use 2 wedges, 1 tsp coarse mustard, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and usually 1/4 tsp italian seasoning). Once cooked, the cheese gets all melty and you have cheese-stuffed burgers. I'm pretty sure the cheese also helps to keep the meat moist.

[MindiV]

Awesome tips! Thanks, Mandalinn!!!!

How do you cook your burgers? Open grill, in a pan, George Foreman or some other way???

[mandalinn82]

I like my burgers cooked on a cast iron grill pan if they aren't being barbecued outside. There's something awesome about the flavor of a burger cooked on cast iron.

[MindiV]

We've got a cast iron skillet, but it's so BIG it doesn't heat evenly on our stove. We use it for some stuff, but not too often. May just do our non-stick griddle.

[corazonas]

holy CRAP mandalinn youre a genius! i'm headed to the store in a bit and will be picking up some ground chicken... mmmm... i want to cook this NOW!

[TJFitnessDiva]

oh yummm!! I'm in the mood for burgers now Thanks for the ideas!

[mandalinn82]

I knew I had a formal recipe for this written down...just had to go dig it up from my files.

Cheesy Stuffed Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Burger Patties:

1 lbs ground chicken breast
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, finely grated, pulp and juice
1 small zucchini, finely grated
3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 The Laughing Cow Light cheese wedges, Original Swiss flavor
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
¼ tsp black pepper

Buns and Toppings:

1 large red onion, sliced in thin strips
1 tsp olive oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
4 light hamburger buns, toasted
Lettuce, tomato, and pickle
Mustard, Tomato Ketchup, or Barbecue Sauce

In a large bowl, combine all burger patty ingredients through the soy sauce. Fork together gently until just combined. Do not overmix.

In a small bowl, combine the cheese wedges, mustard, rosemary, and black pepper. Stir well.

Shape the meat mixture into 4 even balls. Make a deep indent with your thumb into each ball of meat, and fill with ¼ of the cheese mixture. Seal the indent well and shape gently into a patty, being sure that the cheese mixture stays enclosed.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and reduce the heat to medium low. Sprinkle the salt and pepper, toss to combine, and cook slowly until deeply caramelized.

Grill the burgers on an indoor or outdoor grill over medium high heat, about 6 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Place one patty on each toasted bun, top with the caramelized onion, and serve with condiments on the side.

Yields: 4 burgers

[MindiV]

Hmmm....well, the problem is I don't HAVE the ground chicken yet. And my little online searches of area stores show they don't stock it.

Whoever heard of a place that doesn't sell ground chicken!?

[mandalinn82]

Ground turkey breast has a similar flavor and nutritional profile. Most stores DO stock that, even if they don't have chicken.

[MindiV]

Wonder if I could sneak in ground turkey and not let him know? He's convinced he HATES ground turkey....refuses to try it. Grrrr.....

[corazonas]

go for it... he'll probably nver know

[TJFitnessDiva]

Ground turkey and ground chicken look almost the same when cooked So ditch the wrappers and tell him it's ground chicken lol

[MindiV]

He may not...I didn't. The reason I even suggested ground chicken is because I thought they sold it at our nearby Wal-Mart supercenter. The brand name was Honeysuckle White, and it looked like chicken to me. Turns out they do turkey....I never looked very closely - just assumed I was right and told him the same!

[beerab]

Pft- our husband's don't KNOW what they like lol- I just tell my husband eat it.

I made chili with boca meat and he didn't even know the difference