Friday, January 29, 2010

Robin's Chicken Burgers




We had the chicken burgers for dinner last night. First of all, I never intended to serve them on a bun since I considered it a waste of calories for a home meal. Secondly, I took the bag of frozen burgers out of my freezer and left it on the counter to thaw which was probably not the best plan since by the time I returned home they were so soft that they were losing their burger shapes. I hoped to save my mistake by carefully placing them back into the freezer so they would firm up a bit before I needed them. No luck. So, I started to re-form the patties, but truly hate that feeling so I mushed the whole thing up and made chicken meatballs using my meatball scoop.

I pan-seared the meatballs in a bit on olive oil using my cast iron skillet on the stove top. The smell of mayo and rosemary as they cooked was delightful. Since they were smaller than the burgers, I cooked them for about 3 minutes on each side then would rotate them in a new direction until fully cooked.

I enjoyed them more than anyone else. Rosemary is probably my favorite herb so it was really nice for me to have a new rosemary application. Jeff thought they were okay. I confessed that I was supposed to serve them on a bun and he said a slice of onion, tomato and cheese would have made a huge difference for him. Charlie and Paige were both suspicious of the meatballs -- they both asked a couple of times if it was meat and what kind of meat it was (this was the first time I've served ground chicken) and Stella claimed to not be hungry. She ate one whole meatball without too much complaint, but stuck to her story of not being hungry. The meal was served with steamed green beans.

I probably would make this again, except next time I'll follow through with the bun to make it more of a crowd pleaser.

8 comments:

  1. Okay - mostly I'd say your post is pretty encouraging. I still don't know whether I should thaw or not. Maybe I'll do a partial thaw.

    This is a Giada recipe. She topped her burgers with more garlic-rosemary mayo and some arugala. Which I think would be delicious, although it's doubtful that I'll buy arugala just for burgers.

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  2. Ingredients
    Mayonnaise:
    1 cup mayonnaise
    1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves
    1 clove garlic, minced
    Burgers:
    1 pound ground chicken
    1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
    1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    4 sandwich rolls or burger buns
    1/4 cup olive oil
    1 cup arugula, divided
    Directions
    For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, garlic, and rosemary; set aside.

    For the burgers: Preheat a gas or charcoal grill or place a grill pan over medium-high heat. In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 of the mayonnaise mixture. Using clean hands, gently combine the ingredients and form the chicken mixture into 4 patties. Place the burgers on the grill and cook for about 7 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels and let rest for a few minutes.

    Brush the cut side of each roll with the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture. Grill for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly golden.

    To assemble the burgers: Spread a dollop of the remaining mayonnaise mixture on the tops and bottoms of the toasted buns. Place the chicken burgers on the bottom halves of the buns. Top each with 1/4 cup of arugula and finish with the top half of the bun.

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  3. I definitely want to eat the chicken burgers with arugula. I think it'll go with the rosemary really well.

    Arugula makes a delicious salad with a little vinaigrette. Why not by a bag for salad (Dole sells a Sassy blend that is mostly arugula) and save out a bit for the burgers?

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  4. Shannon - To answer your question, it is because, at our house, no one really gets to enjoy their food. These burgers will likely be eaten while standing up, in 5 minutes, with no side dishes. :)

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  5. Okay, I made these tonight and thought they were good. Both Ross and I would give them a 6/10. I will quote Ross here, "These would be good with a different type of meat." lol.

    I made up a batch of the mayonnaise sauce and we ate it with arugula. We used toasted Oroweat sandwich thins for the buns:
    http://www.sandwichthins.com/

    I liked the flavor. The buns might have been too thin for our purposes, but the texture of the whole thing felt a bit too soft.

    I served these with a salad, canned peaches and sweet potato chips, but the whole meal felt really light.

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  6. This is mostly off-topic, but I purchased the Orowheat sandwich thins and I'm in love with them. Jeff smoked a whole turkey this weekend so we are in turkey leftovers hell. I cubed some of the turkey, mushed some avocado into mayo and spread it on the bun, added a bit of goat cheese and lettuce then grilled the sandwich on my George Foreman grill. I have to tell you that I thought I was a genius last night.

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  7. Robin, did you end up using light mayo or regular in these?

    Amanda, those turkey leftover sandwiches sound great. I do love the Orowheat thins, but maybe not for the chicken burgers.

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  8. Okay, the second time around I improved these significantly by serving on Focaccia bread (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1559201). They really need a "bun" with a lot of bite to the texture or they feel too soft.

    I loved these this time. Ross still insisted he wished they were made out of beef.

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