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?