Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Aloha



Hawaiian Chicken Burgers
Better Homes and Gardens Chicken Cooking For Today Copyright 1993

1 beaten egg
¼ cup fine dry seasoned bread crumbs
3 tablespoons chopped water chestnuts
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 pound raw ground chicken
¼ cup bottled sweet-and-sour sauce
4 canned pineapple rings
4 kaiser rolls or hamburger buns, split and toasted I used whole-wheat buns
shredded spinach I used Romaine because that's what I had

In a medium bowl combine egg, bread crumbs, water chestnuts, ginger, salt and pepper. Add ground chicken and mix well. Shape into four ¾-inch patties.

To grill, place patties on an uncovered grill directly over medium coals; cook for 15 to 18 minutes or till no longer pink, turning once and brushing with sweet-and-sour sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Meanwhile, place pineapple slices on grill rack. Cook for 5 minutes, turning as needed. I broiled everything - too cold to grill.

To serve burgers, sprinkle bottom half of each bun with some shredded spinach. Top with patties. Brush patties with sweet-and-sour sauce and top with pineapple slices.

Makes 4 servings.
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I guess you can throw a slice of pineapple on just about anything and call it Hawaiian. I highly doubt there is anything authentically Hawaiian about these burgers but they were pretty tasty. I used the broiler and they came out great. I'm sure they would be even better grilled. This burger wasn't quite as good as Red Robin's Banzai Burger but I didn't feel as guilty after eating this Hawaiian Chicken Burger as I do after a Banzai Burger. It's rare that I enjoy a burger without cheese (except Wendy's singles - I eat only ketchup on those).

I would have preferred a better sweet-and-sour sauce. My only choice was LaChoy but I'm going to search out a better one in other stores. Fat Tuesday used to have the best sweet and sour sauce served with chicken fingers and fries. It wasn't pink. At least I don't think it was. The lighting was dim and I usually had a couple of 190 Octanes in me.

I need to try my hand at making sandwich buns. I'm worried about shaping them properly. These burgers would have been so much better on homemade buns.

This is a real stretch but this is my submission for Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday. Hey, there's pineapple, water chestnuts and even a bit of lettuce. Ginger is also good for you. I've submitted weaker contributions. Cate's not feeling too well. She's probably so full of medication, I could probably submit a glazed donut and she wouldn't notice.

Blast From The Past: Sweet and Tangy Barbecued Chicken from October 2005, also from this cookbook. It's a nice little chicken cookbook.

Question of the Day: When (if) you go to Red Robin or any other gourmet burger place, what kind of burger or sandwich are you likely to order?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. That really looks good! We see so many burgers, but this one looks different and scrumptious!

M Smith said...

*sigh* I used to order the Portabello Mushroom burger from Red Robin. But they took it off of their menu a few years ago. Now my only vegetarian burger option at that place is a Boca Burger. Why won't these restaurant understand that us vegetarians can microwave a Boca Burger ourselves, in the privacy of our own home. We don't need to pay $8 for someone else to do it for us.

Anonymous said...

I usually order one of their chicken sandwiches or their chicken wrap. I'm not big on hamburgers unless I make them at home.

As for your sweet and sour sauce, www.allrecipes.com has a couple of good ones that you make yourself -- they're usually quick and easy and taste infinitely better than anything out of a jar.

Unknown said...

I don't really eat sandwiches that much and VERY RARELY eat burgers. If the place had a portabello mushroom sandwich I'd eat it. If I were to eat a burger I'd probably get a mushroom and swiss burger...this is SO good! Never heard of Red Robin.

Sarah - The Home Cook said...

Oh man do I love Red Robin! I always order the Royal Red Robin (with raw white onion) because I'm a sucker for the fried egg.

Randi said...

Yesterday I took some friends to Michigan and we went to Ruby Tuesday. They had salad bar and I had a portabella swiss turkey burger. Since I don't eat red meat I usually always get a chicken or turkey burger, sometimes veggie burger

Anonymous said...

That looks really good.
I'm a mushroom swiss kind of gal. Nothing too exciting. If they add grilled onions to it as well I'm a happy girl!

The Cookbook Junkie said...

I never know what to order. I've ordered the Banzai Burger and Potroast Burger several times at Red Robin (they changed the Potroast Burger or I would still get that). I love the mushroom swiss burger too. The only one I didn't really care for was some sort of blue cheese burger only because it was way too salty.

Anonymous said...

A good sweet and sour sauce is equal parts of:
White vinegar
White sugar and
Ketchup.
Whisk ingredients together and then lightly boil on stove top until desired thickness.
Enjoy!

Amanda K. said...

If you want it to taste more like the Banzi burger, use Teriyaki sauce instead. I use light mayo since RR has mayo on theirs. I usally make them with grilled chicken, but can't wait to try it with ground chicken!