Up until this recipe, I had never eaten much less cooked a chicken burger. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever cooked ground chicken before. I think the main reason is because I’m picky about my poultry and only like white chicken breast. I assumed ground chicken would have all kinds of parts I didn’t want to know about. But I found ground white chicken breast on sale at King Soopers for $3.99 a pound, which was actually a dollar less than the ground turkey. For this particular meal I went over my $10 budget by a couple of dollars. To keep the price lower I could have bought the store-brand buns for 99 cents but I splurged for a change and bought sesame-seed big buns. I haven’t tried ground beef or turkey as a substitute but if you can’t find chicken or it’s not on sale I think both would work perfectly, as well as ground pork. If you watch the video, you’ll see my ground chicken mixture was a bit gooey but you don’t want to add too much bread crumbs or you’ll dry it out. Make sure the grill grates are oiled and it will help keep the burger from sticking. Don’t flip too early or the burger will fall apart.
The burger has a lot of flavors going on so I made a side of slaw that’s more mellow and uses leftover vegetables from the burger mix. The pickled red onions are the crowning touch on this burger. You can pickle them 45 minutes to an hour ahead of time or better yet, the night before, for even more flavor. The pickles will last in the fridge for about a week. This is a nice change from the regular old burger and absolutely delicious!
I found this recipe in Country Living magazine and changed up the pickled red onions and added the slaw.
HOISIN CHICKEN BURGERS WITH PICKLED RED ONIONS & SLAW –
Working Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes-1 hour
Serves: 4 for approx. $11.80
For The Pickled Red Onions –
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 to 8 black peppercorns
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Directions:
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the first five ingredients to a gentle simmer. Remove pan from heat and let cool to room temperature. Add onion rings and stir; then let steep for 45 minutes to an hour. *If you want to let them pickle overnight, you can put them in a glass jar or bowl, cover and stick in the fridge until ready to use.
Gluten free and vegan.
Hoisin Chicken Burger –
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground chicken (or turkey, beef or pork)
- 1/4 cup minced red onion
- 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons panko (or breadcrumbs)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (you don’t have to add these but they do add flavor)
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 4 buns
- lettuce
Directions:
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. In a large bowl combine minced onion, chicken, bell pepper, garlic, 4 tablespoons hoisin sauce, breadcrumbs, sesame seeds, ginger, and soy sauce. Form the mixture into 4 patties.
Brush grates with oil, and grill burgers for about 4 minutes; flip and repeat, brushing with remaining hoisin sauce during the last minute. Meanwhile, strain and reserve pickled onions, discarding the liquid. Assemble burgers on buns, with lettuce and reserved pickled onions.
Super Easy Slaw –
*(This actually makes enough for 6 and you can use the leftover vegetables from the burger.)
Ingredients:
- 16 ounce bag cabbage (or cut up a small head)
- 1/4 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon sweet relish (I actually tried a new jalapeno sweet relish that was on sale for 99 cents for a bit of heat)
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 carrot, chopped
- dash of black pepper
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Let sit in fridge till ready to eat.