Chicken Burgers: Juicy And Delicious

It’s been a fashion lately to substitute ground turkey or chicken for ground beef. Since poultry has less fat than chicken, often it’s substituted for health reasons.

However, ground chicken is quite delicious in its own right. It makes wonderful meatloaf and these wonderful burgers. These burgers are every bit as moist and juicy as their ground beef cousins even when they’re cooked “well done.” Since none of us eat rare chicken–which is definitely unappetizing–that was my test for these chicken burgers. And they passed the test with flying colors.

Make Them Different Each Time

As with most recipes, if you change up the herbs and spices, you make a new dish.

It’s pretty much the same with these chicken burgers. I flavored them Italian style, however, using poultry seasoning in it’s place makes them entirely different.

Since I based these off a delicious Asian meatloaf I recently made, converting that meatloaf recipe into burgers would be seamless. And the diced water chestnuts from that recipe would work wonderfully here as well.

Of course simply substituting ground turkey makes them entirely different too.

Bun Or None

These are great served on a bun. I chose nice crusty Kaiser rolls for mine. Regular old white bread hamburger buns work nicely too.

If you can get brioche buns, they’d be spectacular as would a nice artisan roll or sourdough roll.

To make it a complete meal in a bun, add some lettuce and tomatoes to each burger.

Of course if you are watching your carbs, you can eliminate the bun entirely and just serve this with a big salad. Carb-free keto breadcrumbs can be substituted for the panko crumbs too.

The Recipe

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Chicken Burgers

Juicy and delicious

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: burgers made with poultry, chicken burgers, keto chicken burgers

Servings: 4

Calories: 308kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground white meat chicken
• 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 3 tbs milk or cream
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 tbs fresh parsley chopped
• 3 tbs Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 tbs olive oil
• lettuce & tomato optional if serving on a roll

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Place breadcrumbs in a medium bowl and add the milk; toss to coat and let this stand for 5 minutes.
• Mix in the ground chicken, egg, herbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Divide evenly into 4 portions and shape into burgers.
• Heat oil over medium heat in a large, preferably non-stick skillet. Place burgers in hot skillet and cook each side about 5 minutes, turning when nicely browned. Burgers should be 170F/85C in the center using an instant-read thermometer.

Notes

Nutritional values do not include bun nor tomato and lettuce

Nutrition

Serving: 1burger | Calories: 308kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 520mg | Potassium: 658mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 210IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 2mg

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Dan Dan Noodles: A Real Treat

If you’ve ever been to a “noodle joint” in Chinatown. you’ve probably tried Dan Dan noodles.

Since they’re a Sichuan treat, they can run a bit on the spicy side. However, when you make them in your own kitchen, you get to control the heat. These noodles do need a bit of heat if they are to remain anywhere near being authentic.

You also have a choice of meat. They’re equally as good with either chicken or pork. I happen to prefer the pork, but that’s merely a personal thing.

Authentic Noodles

While you can use regular #8 spaghetti for this recipe, it will be much better if you use authentic Chinese noodles.

If you’re lucky enough to have a store that sells them fresh, they will either be by the dairy aisle or the produce department because they are kept refrigerated. If your store doesn’t stock the fresh kind, you should be able to find them in the aisle where Asian foods are. You can use either Chinese egg noodles or lo mein noodles. In a pinch ramen will do. This hasn’t got much to do with taste because Chinese noodles, much like regular spaghetti, don’t have much taste. It’s a textural thing here. The Chinese noodles have moxie and have a good “chew factor.”

If you’re into making your own pasta, this is also an excellent substitute. Use the spaghetti cutter and you’re all set.

Chili Garlic Oil

This recipe gives directions to make your own chili garlic oil. This is where the heat comes from so you control that by how much red pepper flakes you use.

If you have a store-bought brand you like, feel free to bypass making your own and just use that.

The Recipe

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Dan Dan Noodles

Skip takeout and make these great noodles at home!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: asian noodle dinners, authentic sichuan dandan noodles, dandan noodles, sichuan noodles

Servings: 4

Calories: 648kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 4 scallions thinly sliced for garnish

Sauce For Meat Mixture/Broth (divided):

• 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tbs rice vinegar
• 1 tbs honey
• 1/4 cup water

Meat Mixture:

• 1/2 pound ground pork or chicken
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 cups mushrooms finely chopped
• 1 scallion white part finely shopped

Noodles/Broth

• 8 oz Chinese-style egg noodles
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach roughly chopped

Chili Garlic Oil:

• 1/3 cup sesame oil
• 6 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2-1 tbs crushed red pepper flakes

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a small mixing bowl, stir together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, honey and water until smooth. Set aside.
• In a large skillet over low heat, add sesame oil, garlic and chili flakes. Cook stirring occasionally until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and very carefully pour chili oil into a heat-proof bowl, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the skillet. Set aside remaining chili oil.
• Increase heat to medium and add ground pork or chicken to the skillet. Season with pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, breaking up with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and chopped white scallion and cook 2 minutes longer. Slowly add 1/2 of the soy sauce mixture and simmer until sauce thickens and the meat and vegetables are caramelized and crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in about 3 tablespoons chili oil and cover to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside. In the pot used to cook the noodles, simmer broth and remaining 1/2 of the soy sauce mixture over medium heat. Return noodles to the pot, add spinach and toss to combine. Serve noodles topped with some of the meat, scallions and additional chili oil, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 648kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 1454mg | Potassium: 805mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1896IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4mg

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Meatloaf Makeover

Meatloaf is the number one comfort food according to most surveys since it’s retro and oh-so homey. For most, it was a childhood favorite and has remained so into adulthood.

However, like most things, it may need a bit of a makeover. That’s exactly what this Asian meatloaf is. It’s got mild Asian flavorings so nothing is too overpowering. It’s got an interesting texture too–from something you’d never think you’d ever add to a meatloaf.

I have to say that I like this version better than the original. See if your family agrees.

Turkey Or Chicken

This meatloaf can be made with either ground turkey or ground chicken.

I love turkey but to be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of ground turkey. Ground chicken tastes better–at least to me.

I also chose to use ground all-white breast meat chicken. Using the all-white breast meat makes this meatloaf lower in fat than it’s ground beef cousin. That’s not a big issue to me, but it definitely is for some.

Ground turkey lots of times contains fattier dark meat and skin, so does some ground chicken, so make sure to read labels if fat content is important to you.

Water Chestnuts? Yes!

Water chestnuts don’t add any flavor–because they really don’t have any–but they add an interesting crunch for a great texture.

You can buy them whole, sliced and now diced. Naturally, I wanted to save myself some work so I got the diced ones. They are available in the Asian aisle of the supermarket. They’re also nice in salads, for the same reason as here being texture so you might want to pick up and extra can for future use.

The Recipe

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Asian Meatloaf

Use turkey or chicken--either way, great flavor

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Keyword: asian meatloaf, chicken meatloaf, lower-fat meatloaf recipe, turkey meatloaf

Servings: 6

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 lbs ground chicken or turkey
• 1/4 cup onion finely chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic grated
• 5 oz water chestnuts diced
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Glaze:

• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup or chili sauce
• 1 tsp chili paste or Sriracha

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Line a baking sheet with parchment and spray with non-stick spray.
• Place breadcrumbs in a large bowl and stir in the milk, making sure to coat the breadcrumbs. Let this stand for 5 minutes.
• Add the ground chicken, onion, soy sauce, garlic, water chestnuts, egg, salt and pepper. Mix very well.
• Mix glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
• Shape the meat mixture into a loaf about 10-inches/25-cm long on the prepared baking sheet.
• Brush the top with half the glaze. Bake for 30 minutes. Brush remaining glaze on top of the meatloaf and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Internal temp should be 165F/75C.
• Let meatloaf rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 158mg | Sodium: 1114mg | Potassium: 960mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 160IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg

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Escarole Soup with Tiny Meatballs

A treasured old Brooklyn recipe.  There’s nothing more to be said, except you can substitute ground beef for the ground chicken.

Just enjoy and mangia.  This one’s healthy and low-fat/calorie too.

Escarole Soup with Tiny Meatballs

• 6 cups rich chicken broth
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated cheese a combo between Parm & Romano
• 1/3 to 1/2 lb ground chicken
• 1 tbs dry breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp minced parsley
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 large head escarole (that would make about 5 firmly packed cups) or comparable amount of fresh spinach. 
• Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste.

Add the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining egg/cheese mixture. Bring to a boil and correct the seasoning.

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