BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Sandwiches Juicy Hamburger Recipe

Hello All,

Gee I get hungry just reading about your thoughts!

Les, one doesn't have to used ground/minced meat when making burgers from fowl like chicken, turkey and ostrich. These meats are great for cholerstrol low diets for obvious reasons, but if you are going to mince the meat to make patties, you can bard them with streaky bacon, grill and or fry on a medium heat then either eat the crisped bacon or discard.

Of course, bacon is not a kosher meat so not everyone can do this, but the flavour is very nice (understatement!)

I used to do this and might indulge now and then, but for leaner and more healthy cooking I just use marinated chicken breasts and grill them whole then present them in a burger fashion. I love them this way and you just grill your meat either on the stove or open braai/fire/barbecue.

Like Debbie, I do not press down the patty or breast as it were, so that juices are not lost.

Let them rest as one does with other meat cooking for the patty to settle down and redraw the or any lost fluid, when they are cooked through just put off the source or heat and cover for 5 mins before presenting or eating.

I love freshly squeezed lemon juice on my 'fowl' burgers too.

Hmm, supper is sorted for now but will certainly put on of these on the menu for next week!

Great subject, thanks Connie...

Cheers

Lestie, I love cooking those in water also. With the chicken, I season the water with honey and Dijon mustard. Then, I cook the burgers down and brown them off. The mustard and honey make a nice glaze. Be careful not to burn them!

Turkey burger doesn't have to be dry. To add flavor and a little fat, because Debbie's right about having a bit of fat, I add in a bit of Ranch dressing. After working the Ranch dressing into the meat, I brown them off on both sides. Then, I add a bit of water and finish cooking the burgers. Again, I cook them down and finish browning them.

Hi Connie,

Is Ranch dressing a commercial one? If you could make your own, what ingredients could you use? Peri peri oil may be one answer too don't you think?

I do not mix meat and cheese (just a personal choice) but I have a friend whom I believe makes a wicked chicken burger by putting a right-sized piece of blue cheese in the middle of a flattened and split chicken breast which she barbecues with cocktail stick to hold it closed; then she presents in all sorts of ways, and as a hamburger being one. I suppose it's a sort of Chicken Cordon Bleu burger?

Anyway, mouthwatering stuff this all is not so!

Cheers now

I don't know Peri peri oil. What is it like?

Ranch dressing is a bit like the spices that you would use for Italian dressing combined with mayonnaise, yogurt (or sour cream) and buttermilk, instead of vinaigrette. It is very garlicky!

Here is a recipe that I adapted:
Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup yogurt (or sour cream)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning mix (the one that I use has basil, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, and oregano)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Method:

Whisk together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, and yogurt in a bowl. Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, chives, dill, and parsley. Rub the dried Italian herbs between your hands into the mixture. Add the salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour before serving. Use within two days.

Hey Connie,

That Ranch dressing recipe reads wickedly delish - thanks I will try it and report back after my next braai or whatever. Thanks for posting it.

Peri Peri (piri piri?) could just as well be described as chillie oil, where a chillie is left in some oil for as long as you want your cooking oil to be 'hot' It takes experimentation of course to get it to your right heat but does make a difference in cooking and paople aften ask what have you done - when all it is is that you have cooked in the seasoned and thusly flavoured oil.

Another trick I learnt was to so the same with a bottle of medium or dry sherry or fortified wine (as we are allowed to call it here in S A) and then with most soups drop a spoon or two for an extra kick. Again, the longer you leave the chillie in the sherry, the hotter it will get. Choose your soup well (i.e. not a creamy one) though I ignore this and use it as and when I feel like it. Again, it gives the soup an 'I-don't-know-what' flavour that many ask about.

Cheers

P S Les and all,

On re-reading my post about using a whole chicken breast for a burger, I see that it was a bit preachy to the converted and to the cooks of this world maybe ... and for this I apologise, didn't mean it to sound so. Sorry.

Lestie, a chicken breast is wicked good with Ranch, lettuce, and tomato on almost any kind of bread or bun.

Hello Connie,

OH MY! I made some of your Ranch dressing with a couple of changes and it was so delish. I did not use the powders and instead used fresh crushed garlic and very finely diced (almost like grated) fresh onion. Also used yoghurt instead of the cream option because of the mayonnaise. It was a hamburger and hot dog evening (only 5 guests and me) but we went through a double-up amount and believe there would have been room for more!

Of course they asked for the recipe and did I give it to them?

NO! I told them to join BellaOnline Sandwiches site to get it ... so we will see if they really wanted the recipe. Judging by the relish with which they gobbled the food, I would say they did.

Thanks to you I got to bask in some of your sunlight so there we are Connie!

P.S. With the wine we had, we solved world peace so now we just have to implement our plan quickly.

Cheers now

Lestie, I wish that I had been there for some of your delicious Ranch. I always encourage people to add their own touches to recipes. Recipes shouldn't be static. They should use fresh, available ingredients and the cook's wonderful imagination and creativity. You have those last two ingredients in abundance!

I love it when people join the forum, but they can get it without joining. They just won't be able to post.

Ah, and of course - still they will be exposed to the magic of the full web address and all that BellaOnline has to offer and if they are sensible they will join someone somewhere.

I wouldn't mind some input from all sources any info on low and no cholesterol cooking and ingredients. I want to be a tad cautionary here myself, but have a friend who is full on into reading food labels frantically and trying to devise tasty food for his entertaining and home-alone use.

P S Connie, if there is Adult onset or just plain Adult ADD cooking tips for sandwiches and work lunches would appreciate them too, say ta

Thanks Connie and all ...

Lestie, I am working on recipes for a cookbook that would be just right for somebody with ADD. PM me and I'll give you details.