Chicken Burgers – Bacon Ranch Chicken Burgers
Bacon Ranch Chicken Burger
Call me the Burgernista.
Ok – you don’t really have to. But I have a serious obsession with burgers. I think maybe because they are just as fabulous as the egg. Eggs are simple, inexpensive, easy to work with (following a couple basic principles) and endlessly adaptable. Burgers are the same way – I like to think of these foods as the little black dresses of the culinary world. I don’t think there are very ingredients in this beautiful world that I won’t ground up, smash together and slap on buns of some kind.
When I started playing with burgers made of anything other than ground beef, it was because my local grocery was running some serious specials on ground chicken. I think the first I worked with was ground white meat, and I have a preference for ground dark meat poultry. But either one will work. Dark meat poultry will be more flavorful, and will have less of a tendency to dry out, but I’ve discovered that ground white meat is usually more available – at least where I live.
Bacon Ranch Chicken Burgers
I normally don’t use very many prepared foods – I just don’t like the way they taste. And I really don’t like not being in control of the salt and sugar content. But in this case I took the shortcut – the little packets of dressing mix add just the right touch. Plus – the taste is hard to duplicate – I know, I’ve tried. And it’s delicious. Flat. Out. Fabulous.
Now – the preference here is for the grill, by far. But if you can’t grill for some reason (I know – it taste a blizzard or a toddler for me not to grill) then you can do it in a non stick skillet. Just hit it for 7 minutes per side on medium heat. On the stovetop it is a little trickier to get the heat just right in order to develop a lovely crust on the outside and have the poultry cooked through. A touch of olive oil helps, but it’s not necessary if you’re watching your fat intake. And if you want to be rather wicked, instead of olive oil, use a touch of the fat from the bacon. I won’t tell.
Recipe: Chicken Burgers – Bacon Ranch Chicken Burgers
Summary: Juicy, flavorful, lean and delicious chicken burgers!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground chicken or turkey
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix (not the dip)
- 2 egg whites
- 1 Tbl SOS (see blog entry for SOS)
- 1/2 cup onion
- 2-4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 Tbl fresh parsley
- Oil for the grill
To assemble:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 16 slices thick cut bacon
- Red leaf lettuce
- Thinly sliced red onion
- 8 burger buns
- 1 cup crumbled goat cheese (or sliced something else like Cheddar, but this is delicious)
- Sliced tomatoes
Directions
- Put all ingredients except chicken in the bowl of a food processor and process until pretty smooth. You’ll have a very loose paste.
- Add paste to ground chicken, and mix well, but as little as possible. Handling the meat more than necessary will make it tough.
- Divide meat into 8 equal portions, and shape into patties. Chill until ready to use.
- Cook bacon until crisp, set aside and keep warm.
- Preheat grill or grill pan to medium high. Make sure the temp is nice and hot, and that the grill is well oiled. This is what keeps the burgers from sticking – and helps insure that you’ll have beautiful grill marks.
- Grill the burgers on the first side – without turning them! – covered for 7 minutes. Flip them – ONCE. The grilling pixies will come bite you in the night if you flip them more than once, uncover them, or squish them to hear the little sizzle sound.
- Grill the second side for 6 minutes. Remove to a platter to rest. Top with the goat cheese while they rest.
- To assemble – while the burgers rest, grill the buns for just a minute until toasty. Spread the warm buns with sour cream, and add the burgers. Top with lettuce, red onion, tomato and a couple of slices bacon each.
Number of servings (yield): 4
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