Mediterranean Chicken Burgers
02Everyone falls into this trap at one point or another, don’t they? You see something on sale and you buy it–because it’s on sale. You probably don’t need it, you may not even know what to do with it, but there it is with you in the checkout lane. Or so is the case with my package of ground chicken. It was on sale and I bought it. I had no idea what to do with it, so I stuck it in my freezer. When it eventually came out of the depths of my freezer, I had to figure out what I was going to make with this (frankly, extremely unappetizing looking) stuff that has never been in my fridge before.
We eat fairly healthily but if there is one thing I can’t do, it’s ground turkey. I don’t know. I should probably try it again since there are so many great blogs with ground turkey recipes that actually look pretty good. But, what can I say? It’s just not my thing. I’m a beef lover. Even at Thanksgiving, my dad and I often sulk over the lack of red meat. I don’t eat red meat that often and when I eat it in ground form, I just make sure it’s really lean and then I don’t feel at all bad eating it. So really, why bother with the alternative? Well, to that point, why bother with the ground chicken!? I am telling you, it truly is because it was on sale! I am a SUCKER! Okay, that and I remembered seeing this chicken pesto burger Nikki made that looked pretty tasty. Originally, I was going to make the same burger since I have some pesto in my freezer from the last batch I made. But, I decided to go a different route (while still keeping the Mediterranean flair) and keep this Greek-inspired. I seasoned the burgers fairly simply and added some cheese (which, as you already know, makes everything better) and then topped them with a chunky tapenade of sorts made from kalamata olives and sundried tomatoes. The result was a juicy, flavorful burger. We liked it, we really liked it! Who knew?! I mean, okay, we obviously like chicken, but like I said, I am not normally one to use it where beef belongs 🙂
Mediterranean Chicken Burgers
Makes 4 burgers
1 lb. ground chicken (alright, alright…or turkey)
3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1.5 tsp. dried oregano
12 kalamata olives, pitted
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil, drained and chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or oil from the tomatoes)
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
Mix the chicken, feta, parsley, oregano and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl. Shape into 4 patties. Lightly spray a grill/grill pan with oil and cook the burgers until done, about 5-6 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, make the tapenade by putting the olives, sundried tomatoes, garlic and a little ground pepper in a food processor, pulsing until combined. While pulsing, drizzle in the oil. Top the burgers with the tapenade.
Nutrition Information (this is just for the burgers and topping, not the bun as those will vary greatly): Calories: 212 / Fat: 12.3g / Carbs: 3.1g / Protein: 28g
Thank you again for another great recipe! I made these the other day and wrote about it here : http://tomatoesforapples.blogspot.com/2009/08/mediterranean-chicken-burgers.html
They were very tasty, but our burgers turned out a bit on the dry side. It could very well be our grill (or the griller). Do you have any suggestions for an add ins that might help keep the burgers moist?
I would add some bread crumbs and milk (not too much, so they don’t fall apart)…really helps keep them moist. I do this with burgers and meat loaf, and makes all the difference, ESPECIALLY with ground chicken and ground turkey, which tend to be so lean they get dry and hard to swallow (in my opinion).