Monday, August 18, 2008

Chicken Cobb Burger

I recently joined a cooking group called Dinner Divas. The best part about the group is there are no rules. You can make the recipes, or not. You can take as many breaks as you want. The whole point is to see how many different ways people can make the same recipe. The first recipe was for a Chicken Cobb Burger:


I loved the concept, so I was excited to make this burger. I've never cooked with ground chicken before and seriously considered making this with ground beef instead, but in the end I stuck with the ground chicken. It worked out very well. The flavors were incredible. SP was supposed to be out for dinner tonight but he came home just as I was sitting down to eat. He hadn't been interested in this meal (hence why I was making it when he wasn't home) but as he watched me eat he said it looked really good. I'll definitely be making this again for the both of us.

My one complaint was my own fault - the burger was just too big. Eating it was quite a challenge. Just look at this inside shot:


The problem was I doubted myself. The package of ground chicken was one pound, so I started out using half the meat with the intention of freezing the rest. But then the patties looked so small that I decided to use the full pound, which made two half-pound burgers. Once I added all the toppings it was just too much. Next time I'll make 1/4-pound burgers for sure.

Below is the recipe with my slight modifications. A few other women have already made the recipe and I took a few notes from each of them, mainly from Sissy, who had the brilliant idea of making the avocado into guacamole and the dressing into a mayo-based spread.

Chicken Cobb Burger
Modified from a recipe by Bobby Flay

For the burgers:
4 strips bacon
1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 burger buns, split and toasted
2 small tomatoes (I used tomatoes from my garden
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed
1 small clove garlic, minced
Fresh lemon juice

For the dressing spread:
1/2 cup mayo
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash of sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup spring mix

Preheat the toaster oven to 400 degrees. Place the strips of bacon on the toaster oven pan lined with foil and cook until crispy, about 15 minutes.

Put the ground chicken in a bowl and add the chopped parsley, salt, pepper and ricotta cheese. Mix well and form into balls (I made two, but this should have made four). Stuff a little of the gorgonzola into each ball of meat then forming a patty around it. Heat a non-stick griddle over medium-low heat and cooked the burgers until they are golden brown on both sides, covering them with a pot lid so they cook all the way through.

Whisk together the mayo, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Once the bacon is cooked, drain on paper towels and toast the buns. Put some of the dressing spread on both bun halves, then top with some lettuce, the burger, and finish with some guacamole, tomato and bacon.
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11 comments:

  1. That looks amazing! Omg, I love the concept of it, I'll be make this one soon. Thanks!

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  2. *Drool*

    Chicken sandwiches like this (well, not EXACTLY like this in terms of toppings) have been on the top of my list for a long time. Top of my list = places for ingredients I want to use or things I want to make with no specific recipe in mind. And no kidding, I almost bought ground chicken tonight when I stopped for food. But I felt like something very, very light, so I opted for a salad thingy instead.

    I'll bookmark this. ;)

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  3. Ally - I love Cobb salads so I knew this would be good flavor-wise. It needs some work in the assembly department so you don't make a complete mess of yourself while eating it (like I did) but the flavors are really good.

    Melissa - Seriously! I'm already thinking about the other burger I brought for my lunch today and it's barely 9am. I think you'd like this sandwich given the toppings (hello avocado!) and it's surprisingly light. Very little fat in ground chicken and all the ingredients are basically vegetables.

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  4. Love the concept of using guacamole instead of just the avacado! I agree, mine was very big and messy to eat, but most burgers are-the good ones anyway:) Looks great!

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  5. Stephanie - It was definitely a messy burger, but I agree that the good ones usually are. :) I think if the patties were smaller it would have been easier, although the guacamole went everywhere!

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  6. OH my gosh, that looks amazing. And what a clever idea for a burger! Can't wait to see what you Dinner Divas cook up!

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  7. cobb salad is one of my favorite! i want to try this (just a little smaller scale!)

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  8. Cassie - Did you join the group? This is my first recipe but so far I'm excited. :)

    Colleen - I definitely recommend a much smaller scale! :)

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  9. That looks great!

    When we make burgers we usually aim to each make a couple of smaller ones, then there's less mess and you can play with different sauces for each.

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  10. This looks absolutely fantastic! YUM.

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  11. Dan - That's a good idea.

    Haute Cooking - Thanks!

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