Chicken Meatloaf Burgers

I don’t eat a lot of red meat. I never ate a whole lot of it to begin with, but in the past year or so I’ve really made an effort to cut it out of my diet as much as I can. The problem with that is that sometimes, I just really want a burger. And it’s not usually the meat itself that I’m craving, but just the idea of a burger. Know what I mean? These chicken burgers satisfy the urge for a big ol’ patty of ground meat on a bun, but they’re much healthier than beef burgers. And so flavorful too!
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I actually made these from a chicken meatloaf recipe, so it has all the flavors of meatloaf, but on a bun. How could you go wrong? With ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, and green onions, they’re almost like an Asian-American fusion meatloaf burger. Did I just invent that? Believe it. Also believe that these are really delicious. They’re super fast and easy to throw together for a weeknight dinner that will please even the pickiest of eaters.

You’ll need: ketchup, soy sauce, mustard, sugar, garlic, panko bread crumbs, green onions, and ground chicken. Pro tip: If you can’t find ground chicken for a decent price, you can grind up your own. Just throw boneless, skinless chicken breasts into the food processor. That’s actually what the recipe originally called for (I’m just a rebel).

First, give your green onions a slice. Don’t worry about getting them in tiny, pretty pieces—they’re going in the food processor anyway. I just sliced mine to make sure there wouldn’t be any huge chunks in the burgers.

Put them and your garlic (whole cloves! No garlic mincing here. You’re welcome.) in your food processor and pulse until finely chopped. If you don’t have a food processor, just chop everything really finely.

Dump that mixture into a bowl. This is what heaven must smell like (to me, anyway): garlic and green onions.

Now add…everything else. Your ground chicken, your panko, salt, pepper, ketchup, mustard, and your egg. Now mix it all up!

I used a spatula at first, but then I just got in there with clean, wet hands. It was much easier. Score your meat mixture into fourths.

Now grab each fourth, one by one, and make patties out of them. Two things to note: 1) this is a really soft mixture. That’s ok, don’t be alarmed. 2) These are big burgers. They’re only a quarter pound of meat, but the rest of the mix-ins add bulk. They don’t shrink a whole lot when cooked. If you prefer smaller patties, you could make five or six of them instead.

Now slap ‘em on a preheated grill. I used my Cuisinart Griddler. These took about five to seven minutes per side, but basically just cook ‘em until you can’t see pink. Remember though, that there is ketchup and soy sauce in the mix, so it won’t be perfectly white. It’ll have a light brownish-red tint, but it shouldn’t be raw-chicken-pink. I used a meat thermometer and cooked them until they were at 170 degrees in the thickest part.

Important: If your grilling surface is not nonstick (you can also use a regular nonstick pan instead of a grill top), you must heavily spray or grease the surface. As I said, this is a really soft, wet meat mixture and it will stick to everything. Nonstick surfaces are best—I had no sticking issues on the Griddler, but pretty much nothing sticks to that baby.

Now serve with your favorite fixin’s on a whole wheat bun. I didn’t have many fixin’s lying around, so I just used some Romaine and a squirt of ketchup. These burgers are so flavorful that they don’t need a lot of toppings, though—your ketchup, mustard, and onion are already built in; plus, you’ve also got garlic and soy in there. Delicious!

Mmm, look at that goodness! These are so yummy. Pro tip: you can make the patties beforehand and freeze them until you’re ready to grill them. Make them on a weekend, flash freeze them on wax or parchment paper until firm, then toss ‘em in a freezer bag and cook them up on a weeknight for a quick, healthy, and satisfying dinner.

Enjoy!
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Chicken Meatloaf Burgers
Adapted from Cooking Light
Serves 4
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