The Best Buffalo Chicken Burgers!

I love anything with a Buffalo Chicken flavor profile. Buffalo chicken itself, Buffalo chicken wraps, Buffalo chicken pizza, Buffalo chicken dip, and so I knew that I would love a Buffalo Chicken Burger!

Let's talk about this.

We start with a base of ground chicken, which is tender and lighter than a traditional ground beef burger. To the ground chicken we're going to add: bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, buffalo wing sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. We going to form 4 thicker patties or 6 thin patties. You decide.

Cook the patties on one side for 5 minutes, flip, top with cheese and cook the other side for 5-6 minutes. Toast some lovely brioche buns. Top the buns with a Buffalo Chicken Burger, a drizzle of Buffalo Sauce, some Ranch or Blue Cheese, and a good amount of lettuce. Serve the burger with carrot and celery sticks with more Ranch or serve it with some potato chips like I did here. This Buffalo Chicken Burger is really delicious! My burger was a little sloppy, which I love, and just oozing with Buffalo Sauce and Ranch. I loved the flavor profile with the light texture of the ground chicken. I would happily make these again and encourage any Buffalo Chicken lover to give these burgers a go!

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

Adapted from How Sweet Eats

by Jessica Merchant

Makes 4 to 6 burgers

1 pound ground chicken breast

3 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons buffalo wing sauce, plus more for drizzling

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese

ranch dressing + blue cheese dressing + buffalo wing sauce for topping, or whatever you'd like

4 to 6 buns

Preheat a grill or nonstick skillet. In a large bowl combine the ground chicken, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, seasoning, Parmesan and buffalo wing sauce. Mix until just combined. Form into patties. Grill or pan-fry patties until brown on both sides and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. In the last 2 minutes, place the cheddar cheese on top of each burger. Place burgers on the buns and top with a drizzle of ranch and buffalo wing dressing. Top with lettuce. Serve with carrots, celery, and extra ranch for dipping. 

Fun With Flavor @ IHCC!

Sirloin Burgers with Garlic-Black Pepper-Parmesan Sauce & Roasted Tomatoes with Basil & Balsamic Drizzle

This month's selection from Rachel Ray's Look + Cook is a juicy Italian delight of a burger!  A thick and juicy sirloin burger is topped with a garlicky black pepper Parmesan sauce, a slow roasted tomato, fresh basil leaves and a thick balsamic drizzle.  The burger itself is rather sophisticated, but make no mistake about it.....it is a juicy, flavorful and extremely messy burger.  Just like a burger should be.

Sirloin Burgers with Garlic-Black Pepper-Parmesan Sauce & Roasted Tomatoes with Basil & Balsamic Drizzle

 Adapted from Rachel Ray's Look + Cook

Time: 1.5 hours, or less

Serves 4

3 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick

2 tablespoons EVOO, plus more for drizzling

salt and pepper, plus 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

2 pounds coarse-ground sirloin (I used l lb for 4 burgers and found it was plenty)

3 tablespoons butter

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or grated (I used 4 medium sized cloves; wished I had used more)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Balsamic drizzle (store-bought, or reduce 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar with 3 tbsp. brown sugar over medium heat until thick and syrupy, a couple minutes)_

7-8 red leaf or red romain lettuce leaves, shredded

4  kaiser rolls, toasted

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, 8-10 leaves, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 325F.  Place a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet.  Arrange the tomatoes on the rack, then drizzle with a touch of EVOO and season the tomato slices with salt and pepper.  Roast the tomatoes for 45 minutes, or until tender and caramelized.  Set aside.

When the tomatoes are about ready, place a large skillet over medium-high heat with the 2 tablespoons of EVOO.  While the pan is heating up, combine the sirloin with some salt and pepper.  Form the mixture into 4 patties thicker at the edges and thinner in the center for even cooking and to ensure you end up with a flat burger (the burgers will bulge up during cooking).  Cook patties for 10 minutes for medium-rare, turning once.  Cook for 12 minutes for pink centers and 14 minutes for well-done.

While the patties are cooking, place a small pot over medium heat with the butter.  Add the garlic to the melted butter and cook for about 1 minute.  Add the flour to the pan and cook for 1 minute more.  Season with salt and the coarse black pepper.  Whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture and bring up to a bubble.  Simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the grated cheese.  Prepare a balsamic drizzle in a small pot if not using storebought.

To assemble, place some lettuce on each bun bottom and top it with a burger patty.  Pour garlic-black pepper-Parmesan sauce over the top, set the roasted tomatoes in the sauce, scatter basil over the tomatoes, and garnish with balsamic drizzle.  Set the bun tops in place and serve.

Notes/Results:  This is one amazing and juicy burger!  It does require a little more time than a traditional burger, but the results are outstanding. The garlicky black pepper Parmesan sauce had me swooning, but I must admit that it was the bursts of flavor from the roasted tomatoes, basil, and balsamic drizzle was my favorite in the end.  The only changes I made to the recipe was to add more garlic to the Parmesan sauce and should I make this again (very likely) I will add even more garlic to the Parmesan sauce.  The recipe didn't call for the burger buns to be toasted, but every time I make a burger I almost always toast the bun.  I like that extra little crunch.  Delicious!!

My friend Brenda of Brenda's Canadian Kitchen and I are having a lot of fun choosing one recipe per month from Rachel Ray's new Look + Cook.  Please click on the above link to Brenda's site to see her version of this delicious burger!  Brenda's pick for next month is Rachel's Creole Meat Loves with Trinity Gravy & Buttermilk Sweet Potatoes.

Chicken Queso Burgers

Here is yet another recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Emeril's 20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast.  This is my twelfth recipe from the book and there are still so many recipes I still want to make.  Recipes like:

Shrimp and Chorizo Tapas

Creamy Shrimp and Green Onion Dip

Seared Shrimp Salad

Chickpea Salad with Tabbouleh

Spicy Pork Wraps with Creamy Coleslaw

Shrimp and Feta, Greek-Style

Salmon with Orange Butter Sauce

Seared Salmon with Lentils

Shrimp Etouffee

Melon with Amaretti Cookie Crumbles

Kicked-Up Snickerdoodles

Sausage and Pepper Po-Boy

and lots and lots of Emeril's side dishes which sound great!

 This burger recipe caught my eye immediately as I love having new recipes for ground chicken.  My market almost always has ground chicken on sale (sometimes $1.50 or $1.99/lb) and I always love to stock up on it when I can.  This chicken burger is bursting with the flavor of southwest spices and stays moist from the addition of lots of cheese and chopped green chiles.  The patty is placed between two toasted buns with seasoned griddled onions.  A great break from those beef burgers!

Chicken Queso Burgers

Adapted from Emeril's 20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast

Makes 8 burgers

2 eggs, lightly beaten

8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

One 4-ounce can (about 1/3 cup) minced green chiles, drained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

3 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2-1/2 teaspoons salt

2 pounds ground chicken thigh meat

3/4 cup fine unseasoned dry breadcrumbs

1-1/2 cups minced onions

1 cup olive oil

8 hamburger buns

Lettuce, tomato, and mayo for garnishing burgers (optional)

*I garnished with more cheese, more green chiles, and the griddled onions called for in the recipe

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cheese, chiles, oregano, 1-1/2 teaspoons of the chili powder, the cuming, and 2 teaspoons of the salt.  Add the ground chicken and the breadcrumbs, and mix until well blended.  Divide the mixture into 8 portions, and shape each portion into a 1-inch-thick patty.  lay the patties on a tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to cook.

Combine the onions, 3/4 cup of the olive oil, remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.  Divide the onion mixture evenly among the cut sides of the hamburgers buns, and spread it out with a brush to coat.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  In batches, toast the buns, coasted sides down, in the skillet until the onions cook slightly and stick to the buns and the bread is lightly toasted, 2-3 minutes.  Set the buns aside and wipe the skillet clean.

In the same nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining olive oil over medium heat.  Add 4 patties and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 165F when inserted into the center of a patty, about 4 minutes per side.  Set the patties aside; keep warm.  Repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and 4 patties.  Place the patties between the toasted buns and serve immediately, with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, if desired.

If you're interested in Emeril's book, it is on sale at The Good Cook for $7.99.  And, if you haven't heard of The Good Cook, then you should head over to TheGoodCook.Com right now!  I've been a member for about 4 years now and I love it. 

Thanksgiving Dinner Burger Roundup

At the beginning of last month I announced the Thanksgiving Dinner Burger Challenge and invited all of you to create your own Thanksgiving-inspired burgers. Here are the results and let me just say, they are impressive!

Get ready to lick your chops!

Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies put together ingredients she had on hand to create one killer Thanksgiving Dinner Burger. Now this is a burger I'd like to sink my teeth into!

Natashya's turkey burger is flavored with onion, diced apple, thyme and sage, then placed atop a homemade stuffing-inspired Sage and Celery Bun and topped with a savory mushroom gravy, cranberry sauce, and spinach. Wow! A little savory, a little sweet, a whole lot of deliciousness!


To celebrate her 300th post, Teresa from A Blog About Food, made The Best Turkey Burger Ever. You can tell how tender and moist the burger is just by looking at it!

Teresa's turkey burgers were flavored with Dijon mustard, garlic, scallions, and Gruyere cheese, then topped with sauteed mushrooms and blue cheese. This burger is packed with some of my all-time favorite ingredients. I'm on my way, Teresa!

Deb of Kahakai Kitchen , a girl after my own heart, modeled her "Spectacular Side Dish Turkey Sliders" after her favorite component of Thanksgiving dinner: the stuffing. Sounds like a good idea to me!

Deb chose to incorporate all the flavors of her Mom's stuffing into her slider patties. She pulled big flavors, like onion, garlic, celery, apple, various herbs, and red pepper flakes, then topped the sliders with a homemade lemon-sage mayo, brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce and served them on potato rolls. You know those were some flavor-packed burgers!

All the way from Ireland, I am very happy that Eleanor of BrownievilleGirl chose to join us with her Thanksgiving Burger. Eleanor holds the key to my heart with her secret weapon, Wensleydale cheese with cranberries. Genius!

The Wensleydale cheese with cranberries is such a treat and I'm so glad that Eleanor elected to use it in her burger. If you haven't tried this cheese, you should. It's a very fun treat for the upcoming holidays.

Eleanor stuffed the inside of her turkey burgers with the Wensleydale cheese and topped them off with a very pretty-in-pink cranberry mayo. I think Eleanor has this Thanksgiving business down to a "T". Great job, Eleanor!

Here at Stirring the Pot, my first Thanksgiving Dinner Burgers, were inspired by sausage stuffing, which is also my favorite part of a traditional Thanksgiving menu.

My turkey burgers were a combination of turkey, sausage, grated apple, and sage and were topped with baked creamed pearl onions and spinach. I served my burgers on King Arthur's stuffing buns. We enjoyed the turkey/sausage patties immensely, loved the baked creamed pearl onions, but didn't really care for the King Arthur stuffing buns.

I still had a package of cranberries and wanted to incorporate them into a burger, so I made these Turkey Burger Crostini with Camembert and Cranberry-Jalapeno Relish. They were the perfect thing to serve at our tree-trimming party tonight.

Obsessed with the idea of cranberry mayo, I ended up mixing some into the ground turkey for these mini burgers. I layered a slice of Camembert on the crostini and allowed it to melt slightly, then topped it with the mini burger and a dollop of cranberry-jalapeno relish. They were perfect little bites, with lots of tastes and texture.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in the Thanksgiving Dinner Burger Challenge. It was so much fun to read about your burgers and see the final outcome. I loved them all and am so happy that each of you took the time to share them!

The links for each burger are provided above in case you'd like to read the individual posts and get the recipes.

If I left anyone out, please leave a comment letting me know. I'd be happy to add you to the roundup!

Finally, as I was typing up the roundup I was thinking about how cool food blogging really is. In this roundup alone, there are 3 different countries represented: Ireland, Canada, and America. That's pretty awesome, isn't it? Not to mention that most of us blog internationally on a daily basis. We rarely stop to think about those things, but it truly is amazing! What a privilege it is to meet people from all over the world who share the same passion. Definitely something to be thankful for!