Italian BBQ Chicken Burgers

During the Big Bad Wolf book sale last December, I bought Rachel Ray's "The Book Of Burger". I have been eyeing this book ever since it was published more than a year ago, and I was all smiles when I've spotted the only copy that nobody seems to notice or maybe nobody wants it! Lucky me! There was only one copy of this book, and I guess it was meant to be mine!  Big smile!

There are lots of burger recipes (127 recipes), as well as sandwiches and dogs (27 recipes), sliders (29 recipes), sloppies (19 recipes), which are divided into chapters for meat, poultry, seafood, veggie, and there are separate chapters for sides and sauces. There's even a chapter where other chefs like Bobby Flay, Michael Symon and others, share their burger recipes. A lovely book!

My first recipe from this book is Italian BBQ Chicken Burger which I've made for one of our weekend night dinner, using my homemade buns.

You would first need to make the BBQ sauce, which has bacons in it. The recipe calls for pancetta, since this ingredient is not available, I've used bacon instead. The ingredients for the sauce are bacon, onion, balsamic vinegar, light brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce. Cook till the sauce thickens. Very delicious sauce, though I've got to add in a little more brown sugar to balance out the sourness. 

Another ingredient for the garnish is giardiniera, an Italian hot pickled vegetables, which is new to me. I have however used my Homemade Jalapenos, drained and chopped to pieces.

The chicken burger patties uses fennel seeds which are toasted before mixing into the minced chicken together with chopped thymes, rosemary, chilli flakes, cheese, garlic, poultry seasoning and season with salt and black pepper. Very fragrant from the fennel seeds and these patties are moist and delicious. 
Tip : to ensure that the patties are adequately seasoned, cook half a teaspoon of the mixture to test. Adjust the seasoning to the patties mixture accordingly, if needed.

Assemble the burger! I have used fresh lettuce leaves and added a slice of cheese, place one chicken patty burger, spoon the BBQ sauce over and sprinkle some pickles and sliced onions over. Enjoy!
I like my burger with more Pickled Jalapenos and sliced fresh onions!

For the burger buns, you may refer to my previous post, Hamburger Rolls.

For the pickled Jalapenos, you may refer to my previous post, Pickled Jalapenos.

Italian BBQ Chicken Burgers
(adapted from "The Book of Burger", Rachel Ray)
Sauce :
2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), plus more for drizzling
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped (I use bacon)
1 small onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and pepper
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 cup or 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Burgers :
2 pounds ground chicken
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese (a couple of generous handfuls) (I use Cheddar)
4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons fennel seeds, toasted
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

4 crustry rolls, split
thinly sliced red onions
chopped giardiniera (Italian hot pickled vegetables) (I use Homemade Pickled Jalapenos)
1-1/2 to 2 cups greens (such as arugula, endive and radicchio), chopped

Make the sauce :

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion and season with salt and lots of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened.

Make the burgers :

In a large bowlk, combine the chicken, Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic, rosemary, thyme, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and poultry seasoning; season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly. Score the mixture into 4 equal portions and form them into patties slightly thinner at the center than at the edges for even cooking and to ensure a flat surface (burgers plump as they cook). Drizzle the patties with EVOO.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the burgers, flipping once, 10 to 12 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

Place the burgers on the roll bottoms and top with the sauce, red onions, giardiniera, and chopped greens. Set the rolls top in place.

CB3/14

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