Print the recipe! chicken burgers
I began this recipe (originally from Food Network) encouraged by the great reviews but still a bit hesitant. If it worked like it said it did with ground white meat chicken, ground canned chicken should work too. Still though the chicken mixture itself, as warned in the original recipe, was really wet and I worried whether it would hold together. “Forge ahead” the first recipe said. I did and canned chicken or not, it worked! The only “food storage” adjustment I had to make in cooking was to keep the patties thin since the ending texture was better that way. To go along with them I found a new homemade bun recipe that everyone liked.
These burgers were a {HUGE} hit, right up there with pizza for how “normal food” tasting they were. I’m excited to try other ideas by which to build on them!
makes 9 burgers
Ingredients:
Homemade Buns
1 cup warm water
2 TBS whole egg powder mixed with 1/3 cup water (*or 2 eggs)
1/3 cup + 2 TBS oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. yeast
***
Chicken Burgers
2 (12.5 oz) cans chicken
1 TBS powdered milk mixed with 1/2 cup water (*or 1/2 cup milk)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp. course salt
about a half a loaf of bread ( to be made into 2 cups soft bread crumbs)
1-2 tsp. olive oil
Instructions
Making the Buns
Stir together liquid ingredients and yeast. Allow yeast to soften for 3 minutes or so. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and add to yeast mixture. Knead the dough on a lightly floured board until manageable and allow to double, about 20 minutes. Divide the dough into three equal portions and divide each portion into 6 balls (turn balls in hands folding edges under to make a circle). Press each ball flat between hands (to about a 3 1/2 inch circle) and place on a greased baking sheet. Allow to rise 30 minutes or until double in volume. Brush with egg wash (*see note) and sprinkle with sesame seeds if wanted. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes until lightly brown.
***
Mix egg mixture together and combine in a bowl with other liquids, along with the yeast. Combine with dry ingredients to form dough.
Knead, cover and allow to rise. After first rise, divide into three equal portions. Use each portion to make 6 balls.
Flatten into 3 1/2 inch circles and place on a greased baking sheet. Allow to rise until doubled again.
Brush with egg wash and bake for about 10 minutes until lightly browned.
~~~~~~
Making the Chicken Patties
Using a manual food mill (no electricity) or a food processor, grind 1 pound canned chicken. Using a cheese grater, gently grate bread loaf to make 2 cups of soft bread crumbs. In a bowl, combine ground chicken, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup of milk and stir again. The mixture will be quite wet. As the original recipe states “it will be a tiny bit icky forming it into patties but forge ahead.”
Heat a tsp. or so of oil in a low to medium heated pan. Form thin (about 1/4- 1/2 inch) patties in hands and pat bread crumbs onto each side. I found keeping the patties in my hands while doing this they held together better than by laying them down into the breadcrumbs and picking them back up again. Place each patty onto the heated pan and cook about 5 minutes on each side. Serve immediately with desired toppings on homemade buns.
***
Beginning with the chicken. Two 12.5 oz cans (after being drained) equals about 1 pound exactly.
To grind it I used my manual food mill (OXO’s brand), using the largest plate to grind with (otherwise you’ll be grinding forever!). Use a food processor if you have electricity, this mill is my back up plan.
Next I made my soft bread crumbs using just a regular cheese grater and a half loaf of bread.
Here are my ingredients ready to go…
In the bowl, a 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, the ground chicken and the seasonings to mix together.
Add the 1/2 cup of milk and you get a wet gloppy mix. Keep going!
Formed into thin patties, pat bread crumbs on each side and place onto heated pan to cook.
Cook, on low to medium heat for 5 minutes on each side.
Serve immediately with homemade buns and whatever toppings you like.
In order to even out the bun to patty ratio (since the patties have to be cooked thin) some of us preferred doubling up on the patties. Either single or doubled, these burgers were great! Very filling. After having kids going back for thirds even, there weren’t any leftovers at all!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Notes:
- These homemade buns could be made in a sun oven, no problem. You’d just need a way to stack the baking trays and get it all in there quickly so not to lose too much heat. You can see how 9/9th’s “Mushroom Barley Burgers” buns were baked in one by visiting this post. Also, the contraption I put together to bake my taco shells in, (in the sun oven) posted here, might be an idea for getting multiple trays in the sun oven quickly.
- For the egg wash on the buns I’ve used the whole egg powder mixed with water in the past and it’s worked just fine. If you want to see the difference between a real egg vs. egg powder egg wash you can visit this post.
two things I found that help the burgers stay together better and keep them moist is using a little egg powder and add mashed beans (replacing some or all of the breadcrumbs in the mix). I fiddled around a bit to get just the right amounts to make burgers the thickness we like (we love fat burgers!!) without being too dry or falling apart.
Did you have to use the beans and the egg powder together for it to work thicker? I can do the egg powder but not the beans. The problem I found with the thicker size wasn’t the falling apart so much as the texture itself was a little pasty when they were thick. We liked the crispness of the outer covering of breadcrumbs paired with a thin burger (even if it meant two of them in the bun) to mask the texture. Outside of beans I was thinking of maybe trying cooked barley or oats?
I use less liquid in mine, usually just the liquid from one of the chicken cans and then add in the powdered milk and egg powder rather than reconstituting them first. The bread crumbs and mashed beans help keep it moist, while the egg works as a binder.
Since the meat is already cooked, you have to fiddle with the liquid levels or things will be too dry or too gooey. Going with a drier mixture helps draw the extra moisture from the chicken (or tuna or salmon) and keep the burger from being soggy and mealy, but you can’t go too dry or it turns to cardboard and falls apart.
I think that the addition of any cooked grain could substitute for the beans as a moist bulking binder (and extend your meat supply!). You wouldn’t want a soupy mess, but a thick grain porridge would have similar texture and properties as mashed beans. Just don’t add too much additional water.
Breading the outside certainly helps add a bit of crispiness that you wouldn’t normally get frying pre-cooked meat. I tend to use cracker crumbs or panko crumbs rather than regular bread crumbs since they seem to hold their crunch a bit better, but they all work.