Bacon, cheese, and barbecue sauce are my favorite combination. I have them on burgers, chicken, fries, nachos, and even salads. It makes me hungry just thinking about it. The combination of flavors just hits my taste buds in all the right spots…and so does this chicken burger. I wanted to infuse barbecue flavor into the burger itself, so ground chicken is combined with barbecue sauce before it is cooked. Onions are sautéed in the bacon drippings and mixed with barbecue sauce and then placed on the burger with some cheddar cheese and bacon on top. The final touch is a blend of mayonnaise and barbecue sauce to coat the bun. So much flavor in one burger…delish!
Makes 3 burgers
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken (NOT the extra lean kind)
¾ cup barbecue sauce, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
1 onion, chopped
¼ cup mayonnaise
6 slices of cheddar cheese
6 slices of bacon
Lettuce and slices of tomato
3 rolls (hamburger, kaiser, or whatever kind you like)
Directions:
Step 1: Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Cook until one side starts to get a bit crisp, then carefully flip the bacon to cook the other side. When the bacon is crisp on all sides, remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings in the pan and add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan. Over medium heat melt the butter, then add the onions. Saute for a minute, then turn the heat to low and continue to cook the onions, stirring occasionally. When the onions have softened and have started to brown slightly, stir in ¼ cup of barbecue sauce. Continue to cook and stir for another few minutes. Remove from the heat.
Step 2: In a small bowl, stir together the mayo and ¼ cup barbecue sauce. Set aside.
Step 3: In another bowl, combine the ground chicken, ¼ cup barbecue sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Mix with your hands just until combined. Divide the mixture into thirds and shape them into patties.
Step 4: Heat one tablespoon of oil in a large skillet (I use a cast iron) over medium heat. Place the chicken patties in the skillet and cook on one side for 3-4 minutes (do not disturb the patty while it’s cooking). Flip the patty and cook the other side for another few minutes until the chicken is no longer pink. The outside of the burger might get a bit dark because of the barbecue sauce in the burger…this is ok!
Step 5: While the patties are still cooking in the pan, spread about 2 tablespoons of the onion mixture onto each patty and top each with two slice of cheese. Allow to cook for another minute or two (until the cheese melts and the burger is cooked through). Remove the patties from the heat.
Step 6: Split the buns and lightly toast them (or you can leave them untoasted if you prefer). Spread some of the BBQ mayo on the top and bottom of each bun. Place the burger on the bottom bun, then the bacon, lettuce, and tomato.
Step 7: Place the top of the bun on the burger. Now take a big bite!
Food Happy by Debbie 