California Chicken Burgers with Cabbage Carrot Slaw

I know I have been slacking! Just realized my last post was the beginning of the month! Tomorrow I hope to post some cookie recipes I will be trying out.  I don't do much baking, so we will see how good they come out.

Here in New York it definitely doesn't feel like winter and if the BBQ wasn't all packed away I just might have broke it out.  So instead I got the trusty George Foreman grill going and made some of these tasty tasty burgers.  Chicken burgers are not the same as beef, because 1) they have no flavor on their own and 2) you MUST cook them all the way through.  Both reasons might make chicken burgers a bit tricky but with all these big flavors and my trusty meat thermometer we are ready to go.  I also have to add that these are pretty healthy- we ground boneless skinless chicken breasts ourselves, flavored with spices and low calorie items and used turkey bacon.  The slaw is good for you too- no mayo and we used heart healthy extra virgin olive oil. (I can only hate on the bread because of the carb count- but what the heck- it's the holidays right?)

A chicken burger is not exactly an original but I couldn't find a recipe that was exactly what I wanted so obviously I just made up my own with all the flavors I liked the best.  This idea came from a wrap that was on the menu at one of our favorite diners, that unfortunately closed down :(  But now will live on in this recipe :)

For 6 burgers:

• 2 ½ boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons of McCormick Montreal Grill Seasoning
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 ½ carrots, shredded (shred 3 all together if making the slaw too)
• 2 chipolte in adobo, chopped

1. In a food processor (or a meat grinder) grind up the chicken.  If you want to buy already ground chicken, I would say this came out to about 2 pounds worth.

2. Then mix the meat and all the other ingredients in.  Then form the patties (I got about 6, it might vary on the size of your chicken breasts)
3. Get your grill or frying pan hot and cook until done- about 160 degrees, the carry over heat will cook it to the safe 165 degree mark.  About 6-8 minutes each side if in a frying pan.  The GF grill took about 6-8 mins all together (obviously because it cooks both sides at once)

For the Red Cabbage and Carrot Slaw:

• ½ of a medium sized head of red cabbage, shredded
• 1 ½ carrots, shredded
• the other ½ of that red onion, sliced thin
• juice of one orange
• extra virgin olive oil to coat
• 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar would be good too)
• salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, cover and let marinate in the fridge while you make your burgers.

Toppings

Really they are whatever you want- BUT when people classify something as "Californian" for some reason it always has avocado. So this is what I topped mine with:

• Turkey bacon or regular bacon
• Avocado, sliced
• Tomato, sliced
• Cabbage and carrot slaw
• Baby spinach

If you needed a dressing of some sort I would go with a honey mustard or blue cheese.  OR instead of mixing the chipolte in with the meat- you could mix it up with some mayo and use that as a dressing.  I skipped the cheese but a spicy monteray jack cheese would be awesome (because it originates from CA!) or maybe a tangy provolone.

Pile it high on a crusty but soft bun and this is one burger you will be making again!

BBQ, Burgers, and Beer

This is how I plan on spending my Memorial Day Weekend!  I love Memorial Day Weekend, its like the official beginning of summer! BBQ's are blazing and what a better time than to share a couple of my (and a bunch of my friends) BBQ favs.

Forget those nasty frozen burgers- I don't eat those unless I'm at someone else's BBQ- they are frozen beef pucks, flavorless and full of fillers.  Making your own burgers is super easy- Once you know the procedure you can easily make meatloaf and meatballs too.  The best part about burgers is that there is endless possibilities.  Right now I am actually trying to come up with some ideas to submit into the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger Contest. So lets get the basics down:

This burger I made the other day and it was just so simple and delicious I will share the recipe with you, I call it "The Original"

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb of ground chuck*
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves
• palm full of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning (this is an essential spice blend in my kitchen, I put that sh*! in everything ;) but if you don't have this just add salt, pepper, and some heat-like cayenne or red pepper flakes, but seriously invest in this seasoning it seriously is awesome for so many things)
• 1 egg
• about a handful of breadcrumbs
• Olive oil

Directions

• Mix all ingredients together (except oil) in a bowl just until it comes together- try and not over-mix it.  The heat from your hands will start to melt the fat and we don't want the fat to melt before cooking.  Also over mixing makes the meat tough. yuck.
• Form into patties, this recipe will prob make about 6 to 8.  Shape into regular hamburger rounds and then smoosh your thumb in the middle of each burger to make a little dent or well- this will help the burger cook evenly, and not bubble up in the middle (the dreaded burger bump), so all the stuff you pile on top wont be sliding off.
• Coat in oil and throw them on a hot grill.  Do not touch them, don't poke them, don't mess with them.  Cook your burgers medium- slightly pink in the middle- this makes the burger so much better than a tough well done one.  For medium, depending on the size of your burgers, I would do about 4 to 5 mins on each side.
• I just added a toasted bun and ketchup, but if you want cheese-throw the cheese on about 30 sec- 1 min before it's done.

Some grilling tips:

• Make the burgers a little bit bigger than the bun, because they will shrink up a bit when cooked
• For the love of all that's good eats- do not squish your burger down with the spatula- that only makes the good juices run out and you will end up with a dry burger and most likely flair ups from the grill.

Overwhelmed at the meat department?

• *Ground chuck:  I have used a lot of different ground meats to make burgers, but this has got to be my favorite ground beef to work with, it is so delicious.  Ground chuck is ground from a single cut of beef (the shoulder), just "ground beef" can have meat from all over the animal.
• Ground Beef: Regular ground beef is usually a combo of two or more cuts of beef.  When you see the ground beef labeled as 80/20, 93/7 etc, this is the lean meat to fat ratio.  Even though it's not the healthiest choice-80/20 or 85/15 (which ground chuck is) are better because the fat adds flavor and moisture to the end result.
• Ground sirloin: this is a piece of ground sirloin lol (middle of the cow) its a leaner ground choice around the 90/10 area.
• Sometimes you will see ground hamburger: now this is like the mystery ground beef lol, it basically is all the trimmings (inside and out) ground up all together- ugh I would stay away from this
• Ground round: its a ground beef from the round of the cow (like london broil, or round roast- the back of the cow, like the top leg) its about 85/15
• Meatloaf mix: this is a mix of beef, veal, and pork- mainly used for meatloafs and meatballs.

I have found that the leaner the meat the more expensive it is- when you go to pick out your meat- you will notice this right away

Not into beef? Try ground turkey.  This is my chili turkey burger with green peppers. yum!