Mesquite Chicken Burgers

Mesquite, Southern Hickory, and even Chipotle Chili burgers. That is what we cooked up tonight on our new charcoal grill. Fellow Diner, Tinkerbelle, inspired me to make up some ground chicken for these awesome burgers. She found pre made patties, but alas, I could not. So, I made my own. This way, I know what is in there. These are a huge hit. Thanks for the inspiration, Tinkerbelle!

The process is not too involved. You probably won't have all the same items I do, but a little make do will do fine. I used the Ninja Food Prep system to grind the chicken. Any heavy duty processor should be fine. Those double blades on my borrowed one are fantastic. Thanks, mom. I used some spice blends you may need to substitute. My spice blend came from Aldi. It was labeled Meat Rubs. I used Southern Hickory and Savory Mesquite. You could find anything similar. Just watch for sugar! I also made a custom mix for Chipotle Chili Burgers. For those I blended Chipotle chili powder, regular chili powder, salt, onion powder and garlic. Delish!

To make the patties, I processed two large chicken breasts at a time. After trimming the fat off, place the breasts in the blender. Add about a teaspoon of seasoning and process. Form into patties. Meat will be soft, so place patties on foil. I even stuck mine in the freezer for a bit to firm them up. Transfer the patties and foil to the hot barbecue grill and cook until juices run clear, being careful when turning.

These stay very moist and quite tender. Fork tender. The flavor is all in there. I like these better than plain grilled chicken because they are uniformly thick and flavorful. We made four of each flavor. Since they are grilled, I can pop the leftovers into sandwich bags and freeze them inside a bigger freezer bag. That way, I keep them from sticking to each other, and have a handy wrap for lunches on the go. The larger freezer bag protects from freezer burn--if they last that long. Just a quick trip to the microwave or toaster oven and the burger will be as good as fresh in an instant.

I had mine tonight with a nice green salad. You could add burger toppings if you want, but with the seasoning all the way through the chicken, these are great alone. A PERFECT low carb meal!