Spicy Chicken Burgers with Coriander-Lime Mayo

 

Over here for the last few weeks a certain fast food place has been having their annual Tastes of America promotion. We popped in last week and ordered the Alabama Chicken sandwich with a smoky white BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese and onion crisps.  There was also lettuce and the bun was supposed to be a cornbread style bun.

 

To say I was slightly disappointed is to say the least.  I will say no more.  I came away thinking I could make a far better chicken burger at home and today (Saturday as I write this) I did just that.  

 

It wasn't quite a copycat.  I infused ours with Tex Mex Flavours  . . .  but it was still a chicken burger and it was mighty tasty if I don't say so myself.

 

I don't think a chicken burger is all that hard to get wrong . . .  but so often it is done so very poorly . . .  I hate that when I eat out, more often than not, I am disappointed by food which fails to deliver what it promises.

 

I am probably eating in the wrong places.  I have a connoisseurs appetite and a pauper's budget, which is probably the whole problem in a nutshell.

 

I created a coriander lime mayo to spread on the buns, using chopped fresh coriander, garlic, and some lime juice and zest, with a tiny bit of salt.  This got put into the refrigerator so that the flavours had some time to meld.  I also used a low fat mayo. 

 

I also marinated the chicken for a couple of hours.  I pounded two boneless skinless chicken breasts until they were even in size, or as even as I could get them . . .

 

These were marinated in a mix of beaten egg, oregano, chili powder, hot sauce and a bit of salt.  I used the Green Tabasco sauce for a real Tex Mex Jalapeno flavour . . .

 

While they were marinating I pulverized tortilla chips in the food processor until they were like fine bread crumbs.  I actually used a mix of cool ranch and lightly salted, but you could use nacho cheese, or whatever tortilla chips you enjoy.

 

Just make sure that your crumbs are really fine . . .

  

Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and remove them from the marinade, allowing any excess to drip off, and discarding the marinade.  Pat the chicken into the tortilla crumbs and then brown them lightly on both sides.  I finish them off in the oven to make sure they are cooked all the way through, adding some grated pepper Jack to the top so that it melts a bit before removing them.

  

I served them on toasted whole wheat buns that I spread with that delicious garlicky mayo, along with some shredded lettuce and raw red onion rings for a bit of zip!  Tasty tasty!

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Spicy Chicken Burgers with Coriander Lime Mayo

Spicy chicken cutlets on a toasted bun with a delicious garlic, coriander and lime mayonnaise dressing.  A garnish of shredded lettuce and sliced red onion bring additional flavour and crunch.  Do note that the chicken needs to marinate for 2 hours prior to cooking.

ingredients:

For the Mayo:

• 55g low fat real mayonnaise (1/4 cup)
• 2 TBS chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp lime zest
• 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced

For the Burgers:

• 2 free range organic chicken breast fillets
• 1 small free range egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 TBS Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp mild chili powder
• 65g tortilla chips, pulverised (3 cups before pulverising)
• 2 TBS light olive oil
• 2 TBS grated pepper jack cheese

To serve:

• shredded lettuce
• red onion rings (raw)
• toasted whole wheat burger buns

instructions:

How to cook Spicy Chicken Burgers with Coriander Lime Mayo

1. Take your chicken breast fillets and pound them out to an even layer. Prick them all over with a fork.  Put them into a container along with the egg, hot sauce, oregano, chili powder and salt.  Cover and shake to coat.  Place into the refrigerator for 2 hours. (You can also use the milder Green Jalapeno Tabasco sauce if you want.)
2. To make the mayonnaise, combine all of the ingredients well, then cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.  
3. Make sure your tortilla chips are really pulverised and fine for the chicken burgers.  I do this in my food processor.  Place  the finely ground chips into a shallow dish.
4. Working with one piece of chicken at a time., remove the chicken from the marinade, allowing any excess to drip off.  Coat completely in the ground tortilla chips. Repeat until both are well coated.
5. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Have a small baking tray ready.
6. Heat the oil in a non-stick  skillet.  Add the chicken breasts and cook for about 3 minutes per side.  Place them onto the baking tray.  Bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked through and the juices run clear.  Sprinkle the top of each with 1 TBS of the pepper jack about 5 minutes before finishing so that it melts.
7. Split the burger buns and toast on the cut sides under the grill.  Spread the tops and bottoms of each with  the mayonnaise.  Place the bottoms on serving plates. Top with some shredded lettuce and onion rings.  Place the chicken burgers on top. Finally place the toasted bun tops over all.  Serve immediately.
8. We had some leftover coleslaw vinaigrette from the other day with this along with some oven chips.

NOTES:

Note - if you wish to serve more people simply double the ingredients.

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I was really, really pleased with how these turned out.  I was a tiny bit worried that the tortilla chips would be too crisp, but they were perfect.  I think the key is to really grind them small, almost to a powder.  We enjoyed them with some oven chips (krinkle kind, Todd's favourites) and some leftover coleslaw vinaigrette! 

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Smokey Turkey Burgers

 

Every now and again, I like to enjoy a good burger.  I have to confess however, I am not totally fond of Beef Burgers. In truth I would rather have a Turkey Burger. 

 

Its a texture thing really  . . .  as soon as I get a bit of gristle or something even closely resembling it in between my teeth, my gag reflex kicks in.  It is a problem I have mostly with beef or pork.  I haven't experienced it with turkey yet.

 

Its awfully hard to enjoy eating something once the gag reflex kicks in.  My mother used to try feeding me hamburger (s) when I was a child and it was a no go. I used to hide it under my plate, (only got away with that one once), under the carpet (that worked until my mother hoovered), and in the cold air vents. (Worked until Spring Cleaning kicked in.)

 

I would be told that I had to sit there until I ate it, and I would sit there all afternoon if need be, and on into the evening, patiently awaiting my opportunity to ditch it. (We had no dog.  If we had, it would have been a lot easier!)  My mom finally gave up.

 

I still don't really ground meat of any kind mixed into anything.  I think I was the only child on the planet who could pick out all of the hamburger from a hamburger casserole, eating the pasta and sauce, but leaving the hamburger behind. (Yes I was that annoying!)  Again, it was a texture thing. 

 

I can eat and do enjoy meatballs now, and occasionally a Hamburger, but for the most part I leave them alone.  I do enjoy ground turkey however, so more often that not, this is what we will have.

 

This is a recipe I found on the Hellman's site.   The original called for the use of Chorizo sausage.  I couldn't bring myself to use that, so instead I used their suggestions for an alternative, which was basically a spice mix.

 

You may think I am picky, and perhaps I am, but I think Chorizo tastes like dirty socks. (Not that I have eaten or tasted dirty socks because I haven't. To me it just tastes like what I imagine dirty socks to taste like.)

  

The end result was a very delicious Turkey burger, with lovely smoky flavours and a moist texture, as you can see from the photographs.  I cooked them on our electric grill. Todd enjoyed his with a nice bun. I enjoyed it all on its own, both with sweet potato wedges on the side.

Yield: 4Author: Marie Rayner

Smokey Turkey Burgers

prep time: cook time: total time:

Delicious and moist with spicy smoky flavours. I served them on buns with slice tomato and lettuce, some cranberry chutney and a squirt of mayo, but they are equally delicious on their own without the bun.

ingredients:

• 600g lean turkey mince (1  1/4 pound)
• 100g fresh bread crumbs ( about 2 1/2 slices)
• 1 small  onion, peeled
• 2 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
• 3 TBS mayonnaise
• 2 tsp English mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 TBS smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp oregano flakes
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin

instructions:

1. Tip the turkey and bread crumbs into a bowl.   Put the remaining ingredients into a small food processor and blitz until smooth. Add to the turkey and bread crumbs and mix well together with your hands.  Shape into 4 large patties. Place onto a plate and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.
2. When you are ready to cook them, remove from the refrigerator and cook on a lightly oiled grill or in an oiled skillet for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked all the way through and the juices run clear.
3. Serve with your favourite accompaniments.  We like toasted buns and sweet potato wedges.

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

I added some mayo, some of my Christmas Cranberry Chutney, sliced tomato and shredded lettuce.  (If you have gotten this far after reading about the taste of dirty socks and gristle, I applaud your tenacity!)  Seriously though, they really are quite good. 'Nuff said.

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Turkey Burgers with Cranberries & Goat's Cheese

 

When it comes to burgers we are more fond of turkey burgers in this house than we are of beef burgers.  I am not sure why that is.  I think we just prefer the taste of turkey more and I know (Speaking for myself) I prefer the texture of ground turkey to beef.  Turkey is also one of those things that you can really adapt well with other flavours such as the additions I have made here today.

 

Today's recipe is one which I adapted from one I found in the cookery book "The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet Recipe Book." The original sounded really delicious.

 

The original recipe called for chopped dried apricots and Haloumi cheese.  I had neither one of those in my larder, so I decided to go with dried cranberries and goat's cheese which I do have. 

 

Because I had changed out the fruit and cheese in the recipe, I decided to use different herbs also. In the original they had used coriander flakes (cilantro) and red chillies.

  

I didn't think either one would go well with cranberries or goat's cheese and so I chose to use sage, parsley and thyme, with fabulous results! I use an adjustable measuring spoon that works really well for this. You can adjust it according to the amount you need. No need for a variety of spoons!

 

Make sure you really chop your cranberries and spring onions very finely. The burgers will hold together better if you do. Zirconia Ceramic Knives do the job perfectly.  Good knives are your best friend in the kitchen. I always hated it when I went to my mom's and had to use her knives.  They were old, dull and alot of the handles were broken and taped together. (My mom's was never a keen cook.) After the first couple of times, I used to bring my own knives with me.

 

Cranberries and goat's cheese go very well with each other and with turkey!  These burgers are really moist and delicious!

 

Lately we have forgone the buns when it comes to burgers. They mostly fall apart when you are eating them and we end up eating them with a knife and a fork anyways, so its just easier to eat them plain.  At least for us it is, and as a Diabetic, it is the  healthier option for me!

 

These were served simply with a red slaw, which is a recipe I also got from the book.  Red cabbage, shredded carrot and apple are simply mixed together with a simple slaw dressing. 

 

2 TBS of mayo along with 1 TBS each of olive oil and cider vinegar do the trick. There is a bit of sweetness from the apple, and plenty of colour and crunch. One apple, one carrot and half a small cabbage, shredded finely.  This 5 in 1 vegetable shredder makes really short work of that!  Plus it has a handy bowl which you can mix the salad together in for serving and storing. I love kitchen gadgets like this which are not only attractive, but also useful and work well.

 

I did cook Todd some potatoes to enjoy with his.  I really love potatoes, but in trying to keep my carbs under control, more often than not I have to forgo them.

 

These tasty burgers made for a lovely light supper that we both enjoyed very much!!! 

  

Healthier options for me, whilst still satisfying my skinny husband who can eat whatever he wants. We both felt like winners! 

Yield: 6Author: Marie Rayner

Turkey Burgers with Cranberries & Goat's Cheese

These moist and delicious burgers are also fabulous made as meatballs.  Just shape them into smaller balls and roast in a hot oven (220*C/400*F/ gas mark 7) for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

ingredients:

500g minced lean turkey (generous pound)

4 spring onions, finely chopped

4 TBS dried cranberries, finely chopped

100g soft goat's cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)

1 medium free range egg, beaten

1/4 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp each dried thyme and parsley

salt and black pepper to taste

1 TBS olive oil for frying

instructions:

Mash all of the ingredients, with the exception of the oil,
together in a bowl, mixing well together.  Shape into 6 flat patties and place onto a plate.  Set
in the refrigerator for about half an hour or so to firm up.

Heat
 the olive oil in a large skillet.  Add the turkey patties and fry on
both sides until they are golden brown and cooked through.  Serve hot
with a salad on the side.

Created using The Recipes Generator

  

I really, really loved these tasty burgers.  Simple to make and delicious, they went down a real treat. It was all I could do to keep my appetite in check and eat only one. Never mind, I filled up on salad.  Bon Appetit! 

PS - I hope you like my new printable recipes format.  My friend Jan clued me in to the fact that Google documents were changing and not for the better so I made the change to Recipe Generator. Its  not free, but what the hey, I think it looks better!

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Turkey Burgers with Cheddar & Apple

 

We are huge fans of Turkey Burgers in our home.  In fact I would go so far as to say that we actually like them far more than we like regular burgers. We especially enjoyed this version that I cooked recently on our Space Grill. We sure are enjoying the beautiful weather and are taking advantage of this grill whenever we can.  It will be winter soon enough! 

 

Another reason we have been using it a lot (aside from the weather) is that is it just so darned easy to sue and to clean.  I could never get Todd to start up our old BBQ. He did not enjoy all the faff involved. This one, I just flip it out and turn it on.The patented automatic fold-down drip-tray means NO MESS, Perfect for all home types from small units to luxury homes, 3 separate individual ignition burners means fast starting. 

It has multiple cooking plates with reversible flat / grill designs. Open flame grill plate option included for healthy cooking. The sleek modern design that adds value to your home. It folds away in seconds, saves room and reduces clutter.  Composed of chef-grade, stainless steel  it is also rust resistant for longevity. The lid also doubles as a splash-back to protect your home. No other BBQ can do all of this! When you are done using it, just let it cook, clean the burner plates/grills, wipe out the fold down drip tray, and fold it all back, neat and tidy in wait for the next time. We love it!  You can find out more about it here.

 

These are really delicious turkey burgers.  I saw a lot of recipes floating around that used apple and spring onions to flavour the burgers.  I expanded on that a bit by using some grated honey crisp apple, minced red onion,  along with some  finely grated orange zest for plenty of flavour.

 

I only used the ends of the apple in the actual burgers, the rest of it was sliced thinly and grilled along with the burgers.  I shaped the burgers and then chilled them for several hours so that they really took in the flavours and firmed up nicely.

 

They grilled up lovely. When the burgers were almost done, I brushed the apple sliced with some honey mustard and popped them onto the grill plate.    I didn't want them to get soggy, but preferred them to retain some of their natural crispness.

 

I thought the grill lines would look lovely and enhance their flavours a bit. The honey mustard also added a bit of a tang to work with the sweetness of the apple. 

 

Once I had them the way I wanted them, I popped them onto the grilled burgers and piled on the grated cheddar, leaving it just long enough to melt down over those apple slices and the burgers.  Oh boy  . . . were we in for a real treat!

 

These were fabulous served on toasted brioche buns along with  some baby rocket leaves, which added a peppery touch.  (Baby Arugula if you live in North America.)  Altogether these were pretty wonderful!  I served them with some coleslaw for a really tasty supper!

 

*Turkey Burgers with Cheddar & Apple*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe 

Moist and juicy with just a hint of orange. Serve with coleslaw for a real family pleasing combination! 

450g ground turkey (1 pound, preferably a mix of light and dark meat)

2 TBS honey Dijon mustard, plus additional for spreading

1/2 TBS finely minced onion

1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 large honey crisp apple, unpeeled

60g strong white cheddar, grated (1/2 cup)

4 brioche burger buns, lightly toasted

rocket leaves

 

Crumble the ground turkey into a bowl. Add the mustard, minced onion, orange zest salt and pepper.  Cut the ends off of the apple. Grate the ends to give you 1 1/2 to 2 TBS of grated apple. Add this to the ground turkey and then mix all together to blend evenly.  Wrap the remainder of the apple in plastic wrap.  Shape the turkey mixture into 4 flat patties. Place on a plate, cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until firm.

Heat the grill on high for about five minutes  Core the remaining apple and cut into 4 rounds. Grill the burgers for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the juices run clear.  For the last few minutes of cook time, brush the apple slices with a bit of honey mustard and grill them along side of the burgers, for about 1/2  minute per side. Place one slice of apple on top of each burger along with 1/4 of the cheese.  Grill for a further minute to allow the cheese to melt, before removing. 

Spread both halves of the toasted buns generously with honey mustard,  Place some rocket leaves on the bottom, then top with a burger, and finally the burger bun tops. Serve immediately.

  

I wonder how much longer we are going to blessed with this fabulous grilling weather!  It hasn't been quite as hot this week, but we still haven't had a lot of rain and its been really quite pleasant sitting out in the garden . . .  cooking, eating and reading.  I hope it keeps up for a while longer!!  In any case, if you are looking for a deliciously different turkey burger this weekend, look no further. You are going to love these.  I guarantee!  They're splendiferously tasty! Bon Appetit and Happy Weekend!

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