Sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes there is no easy way to break bad news.
I’m going to give you some bad news. I’m going to tell you the truth.
Brace yourself.
Here it goes…ground turkey and ground chicken are not all that healthy for you. In fact, lean ground beef is usually better. Shocker!
So now, are you wondering why? I mean, isn’t turkey meat much healthier than red meat? Well sure it is, as long as it is lean turkey that comes from the turkey breast itself. That is usually not what ground turkey is made of.
Ground turkey is…well…ground turkey. Light meat, dark meat and all. It has just as much fat as your regular old ground beef that you probably reluctantly gave up thinking you were making the “better choice”.
Well I have a solution. A perfect solution indeed!
If you really do want a delicious and flavorful burger made from pure white meat that is also a money saver and a quick meal (phew, that’s a lot of pros right there!) try these Homemade Chicken Breast Patties.
These chicken burgers remind me of those good old Tyson chicken patties in taste and texture only without all the fat. These are really easy to whip together for a quick evening meal.
All you do is toss the ingredients in a food processor, form the patties and throw them on the skillet. Well, maybe not “throw”. You would probably be much better off if you gently placed them in the frying pan. Just saying.
Anyway, they only take 10 minutes to cook and you have a perfectly healthy burger staring you right in the face…well, not for long. It will be gone before you know it!
Now if only I could learn how to get my sweet potato fries nice and crispy in the oven, then this meal would be a total winner. Any advice in the fry department would be greatly appreciated.
Until then, I’ll have to pretend that they’re crispy and delicious. We’ll see if I can fool myself.
- 1 pound of raw chicken breasts (about 2 large breasts)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup homemade or store bought gluten free breadcrumbs*
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 gluten free hamburger buns
- Desired condiments and toppings
- Cut chicken breasts into large chunks. Mince garlic clove.
- Place chicken chunks, minced garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, thyme, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt and ⅛ teaspoon pepper in a food processor. Pulse until ingredients are incorporated and chicken resembles ground turkey. It's okay if it gets chopped a bit finer.
- Divide meat mixture into 4 even balls. Press and shape into patties with hands. The mixture is a bit sticky, but you should be able to form the patties.
- Heat a skillet over medium to medium high heat (in between). Add a tablespoon of olive oil and allow to heat until thin. Tilt pan to coat with oil.
- Salt and pepper each side of the chicken patties and place in skillet. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through and no longer pink.
- Serve warm on gluten free hamburger buns with desired condiments and toppings.
