Asian Chicken Burgers

Who doesn't love a delicious stir fry and who doesn't love burgers?! Why not put them together?! This burger was surprisingly really good and really good for you too.  When I tasted it I said "Wow, this tastes like a stir fry on a bun!"  I like to grind my own boneless skinless chicken breasts but you can always just pick up some ground chicken.  You can swap the meat for whatever you like but chicken made it light enough and let the other flavors really shine through as well.

Ok some of these ingredients might be hard to find, but if you have a local Asian mart- they will definitely be there.  Even your larger supermarkets have an ethnic aisle- go explore it.  If you can't find them, don't worry, we can substitute.

Ginger: I'm pretty sure everyone knows what this is.  It is cheap and easy to find.  Buy a big piece, peel it with either a peeler or a spoon and then use what you need and pop the rest in the freezer in a ziplock bag- it will last forever in there and is actually easier to grate the next time.

Hoisin Sauce: (pronounced hoy-zun) It is a Chinese BBQ sauce really.  It is made with soybean paste, spices and garlic so the flavor profile is sweet, salty and tangy so if you really can't find it use 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of honey (or sugar) and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.  This should be similar enough.

Sriracha: (pronounced see-rah-cha) One of my favorite hot sauces of all time.  It is SPICY! but delicious.  We use it on everything from eggs to burgers- I put a little extra on the plate for dipping too. If you can't find this then just use any hot sauce.

Sesame Oil: this stuff is like liquid awesomeness.  You only need a small amount but the flavor and smell is wonderful.  It smells like sesame seeds! Surprise! Remember to only use a little for dressing salads or stir frys- this is not an oil to cook with.  Keep in your fridge to give it a longer shelf life. If you can't find this you can just omit it or sprinkle the whole thing with toasted sesame seeds.

Ingredients

• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts ground- I would say this would be about 1-2 lbs of meat.  I came out with 6 burgers.
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2-3 scallions, chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sriracha
• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (I like the low sodium one)
• 1 big handful of bread crumbs (Panko would be great here.  If the meat still feels too moist just add more bread crumbs)
• 1 egg
• salt and fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put everything in a bowl and combine.  Form into patties and put on a baking sheet. Push an indent in the middle so the burgers don't puff up in the middle- so you will have nice flat burgers.
   
3. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until done.  Since these are chicken they need to be cooked completely through to 160-165 degrees F.  I used my trusty digital thermometer of course!
4. Then I just topped with some simple Asian slaw and served alongside my Faux Fried Zucchini Sticks
5. A sesame bun or whole grain bun would be great (I had no choice but to use Italian bread, but it was still good)

Oh and here's the slaw on top (cabbage would be great in this too):

• 1 green pepper, sliced thin
• 1 small package of alfalfa sprouts
• 1 carrot grated
• toss with 1 tsp of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce

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!

The North Carolina Barbecue Company

So, the girls from Top Shelf Network were lucky enough to receive a complementary sample package from The North Carolina Barbecue Company and they were nice enough to ask me to come over and try some of the food with them! In the package we received 2 packages of meat, 2 signatures sauces, and 2 containers of slaw.  They have two different "lines" or "styles" of BBQ: authentic Eastern North Carolina BBQ and Piedmont (Lexington) BBQ.  (Each containing a meat, sauce and slaw that all compliment each other)  They ship the food right to your door so it makes for a unique gift for anyone in your life that craves real southern bbq!  I also have a soft spot in my heart for North Carolina, since I spent most of summers of my younger years vacationing there in mountain country (Etowah & Hendersonville, NC).

The meat was good, it was juicy and tender pulled pork.  The sauces that went along with it are very different than our usual thick bbq sauce of the north.  It really is just a vinaigrette that helps cut threw the fattiness of the pork and brings a delightful zing into the mixture.  Now the slaws were probably some of the best I've ever eaten.  I do have a soft spot for slaws as well, but these were really good.  The Eastern was my favorite, and I've never had anything like the Piedmont one.  It was spicy and tasted like bbq.  Both delicious.  I felt the best way to eat the pork was on a slider bun topped with the sauce.

There website has helpful videos to show you exactly what you are getting.

Pros:

• Easy to prepare
• Delicious slaws and sauces
• Love how they have each product with it's own style line
• Ship right to your door
• Website is informative and easy to use
• Can be a unique gift

Cons:

• Little overpriced in my opinion for the amount you get
• Reheat time took a little longer than stated on the package
• Can only order in packages (as of now)

Kudos and Thanks to the NCBBQ Company for the samples and being a small local business that is filling empty tummies with authentic southern bbq nationwide.

Eastern Style

Piedmont (Lexington) Style