Chicken Herb Burgers

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Ah the sunshine of the last few days has almost tempted me to get the barbecue out. Judging by the delicious aromas wafting across our garden, I am not the only one. Instead I made these Chicken Herb Burgers and we ate them outside!

FF Chicken Herb Burgers

I have never really been a fan of barbecues. The mass produced cheap sausages and burgers in limp, dry buns, has never held any appeal for me. Yet last year when went were on holiday to Devon we had a barbecue to celebrate our eldest daughter’s 16th birthday.

It was a totally awesome barbecue!

The weather was fantastic and so was the food. King prawn kebabs, free range pork sausages, unbelievably good chicken and lime kebabs – all of which I intend to make again this year and share with you. Oh and we skipped buns in favour of pita bread!

These Chicken Herb Burgers would be absolutely awesome cooked on a barbecue. They are equally fantastic cooked in a cast iron skillet, where the searing heat ensures a great golden outer, which left un-disturbed seals in all the fantastic juices and holds the burger together.

Chicken Herb Burgers

Higher Welfare Chicken

Made from 100% additive free, organic/free range, minced chicken, these burgers are meaty and juicy. The only addition is some fresh thyme, garlic and seasoning. No suspect, milky liquid escapes from the burgers whilst cooking, because the minced chicken does not have any liquid added to it, pre-sale, to bulk it out.

Chicken Herb Burgers use premium meat and boy can you taste the difference.

I am well aware that many people feel that they cannot afford to buy organic meat. Yet it is so much better for us. Happy hens fed a natural diet, allowed to roam freely and build muscle as they slowly mature are a million miles away from their mass produced, intensely reared counterparts.

My answer to the increased cost of good organic chicken is simply to eat it less often, ensure that absolutely nothing goes to waste and cherish the flavour of how real chicken should taste!

Chicken Herb Burgers

If you’ve never made your own burgers before, then this recipe for Chicken Herb Burgers is a great place to start 😉

Recipe: Makes 6-8 Chicken Herb Burgers

2 x 454g/2lb Minced Chicken from Graig Farm

3tbsp Olive Oil

1tbsp Fresh Thyme

4 Garlic Cloves

1tsp Sea Salt – I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

1tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1tbsp Butter

Method:

Making the burgers

  • Empty both packets of chicken mince into a large bowl.
  • Add the thyme, crushed garlic, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper.
FF Chicken Herb Burgers
You can alter the amount of garlic to your preference.
  • Using clean hands squish (mix) all the ingredients together until they are thoroughly combined.
  • Divide the chicken mixture into 6 or 8 equal portions and shape into burger patties using your hands.
  • Place the burgers on to a plate or foil container and chill in the fridge for at least an hour – this helps the Chicken Herb Burgers hold their shape whilst cooking.
FF Chicken Herb Burgers
Chicken Herb Burgers chilled and ready to cook.
  • Heat a cast iron skillet, or heavy bottomed frying pan until searing hot.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of oil and add the chicken burgers, one at a time – take care not to overcrowd the pan.
  • Turn the heat down slightly. The outside of the burgers will sear on contact with the hot pan, however, we don’t want them to burn on the outside whilst remaining raw in the centre.
  • Once placed in the pan do not disturb the burgers for at least 8 minutes. This will allow a nice crust to form on the underside of the burger.
  • After 8 minutes, using a metal spatula, flip each burger over.
FF Chicken Herb Burgers
Chicken Herb Burgers golden, cooked and ready for a brioche bun.

Cooking the Chicken Herb Burgers

  • You can see from the photo above that the chicken burgers really hold their shape well whilst cooking.
  • Cook the burgers for another 5 minutes and then add a little dot of butter to the top of each burger – trust me, this adds an extra layer of flavour and juiciness.
  • Once the butter has melted, cut halfway into a burger to check if it is cooked. The meat should be completely opaque all the way through without even a hint of pinkness – these are chicken burgers and so unlike beef or steak they must be completely cooked through.
  • Once cooked place each burger on a delicious brioche bun (recipe coming up soon) with slices of tomato, red onion and crunchy green lettuce.
  • Add the condiment of your choice – tomato ketchup for me and pop on the lid of the bun.
  • For an extra restaurant style touch secure each burger in its bun with a steak knife.

FF Chicken Herb Burgers

Homemade tastes best

Oh my, these Chicken Herb Burgers are unbelievably good!

They are a million miles away in taste from the local fast food burger joint. The butter added right at the very end of the cooking adds such a delicious buttery finishing note, which works in complete harmony with the succulent, juicy, chicken.

Making your own burgers is so much fun and you can make them as big or small as you like. You may have indeed noticed that there are only 5 Chicken Herb Burgers in this post. Well that’s because I only made 5!! This was a last minute idea for Sunday dinner and we were hungry! I make no apologies, they tasted so amazingly good.

I haven’t found anywhere else that sells chicken mince other than Graig Farm. Saying that I’ve not looked really hard because why would I? Their additive free organic and free range chicken mince is so fantastic, with freezer friendly packaging. I have no reason to look elsewhere!

FF Chicken Herb Burgers
Minced Chicken flat packed and frozen makes defrosting so easy!

Brilliantly packaged to take up minimum freezer space, this chicken mince also defrosts really quickly as well.

If you have loved this recipe for Chicken Herb Burgers you may also enjoy these:

Chicken and Four Cheese Lasagne

FF Chicken Herb Burgers
Chicken Four Cheese Lasagne

Roast Chicken Noodle Soup

FF Chicken Herb Burgers
Roast Chicken Noodle Soup a great way to make an incredible meal from leftovers.

Chicken Pasta Pesto Salad

FF Chicken Herb Burgers
Chicken Pasta Pesto Salad a great all in one dish.

Eating good quality chicken, cooked well. in one of these recipes is a taste experience you will not forget. Trust me it is worth trying – why not find out for yourself?

Thank you for spending time reading this blog. I really do appreciate you all.

Whatever you are making, baking and feasting on, remember that food tastes better when it is shared.

Sammie xx

This is not a sponsored post. I have been buying our meat from Graig Farm for the last four years now and I cannot personally recommend their produce highly enough.

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Roast Chicken Noodle Soup

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How good does this delicious Roast Chicken Noodle Soup look? And it tastes even better.

FF Roast Chicken Noodle Soup

Since it’s not very often I mention the words ‘low calorie’ or ‘low fat’ here, on feastingisfun, yet it would seem, I may have put on a few pounds. And I’m guessing I may not be the only one. Am I right?

A bowl of soup made using roast dinner leftovers.
Roast Chicken Noodle Soup

So, I’ve come up with a delicious way to help you save money and keep your weight in check, my Roast Chicken Noodle Soup.

Seriously, one roasted, chicken breast, a few veggies and this soup feeds 4 people. Also it can easily be doubled, if cooking for a crowd, or kept in the fridge, waiting for a quick, thorough re-heat, after a long day at work.

What’s not to love?

FF Roast Chicken Noodle Soup
Roast Chicken Noodle Soup

I roasted a chicken breast quarter for this recipe, but leftovers from a Sunday roast would work perfectly. Also we are having roast turkey today and I intend to make a batch of this soup with a little of the leftovers, for the week ahead.

And did I mention this soup is virtually fat free. One teaspoon of olive oil, to sauté the vegetables, is all the added fat there is.

While you could poach the chicken, instead of roasting it. Yet that would rule out leftovers AND all the flavour in this Roast Chicken Noodle Soup comes from roasting the meat, at the start.

Since I’m happy to defer to the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten in these matters. Because she has been cooking chicken, for her husband Jeffrey, for many, many years and if she says roasting chicken imparts the most flavour, well who am I to argue?

Why The Need For Homemade Soup?

Also have a confession to make. Because I have never liked, pre-made, chicken noodle soup. Since it is what is know in our family as ‘headache food!’ And don’t ask me how it got that name, it just did.

So, in the interests of clarity, I’m talking packet soups. You know the flat packets that when ripped open reveal powder and dehydrated vegetables. Never liked the chicken noodle one – loved minestrone though!

Freshly made Roast Chicken Noodle Soup – not a packet mix in sight!

So creating this recipe was a double challenge. Firstly to see if I could make a Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup with very little fat and secondly, to see if I could eat it (without getting a headache) and enjoy it and make it taste way better than the packet soup from my childhood. That’s three things – never mind!

Anyway, I totally scored on all points. This Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup is delicious, low-fat nutritious and no headache!!!!

This is how to make it:

Recipe: Roast Chicken Noodle Soup – serves 4 – 6 

Approx 225g/8oz Roast Chicken – deboned, skin off and shredded – leftovers are fine – alternatively, use roast turkey leftovers.

1tsp Olive Oil – I use Filippo Berio

1 Medium Onion – finely diced

3 Carrots – finely diced

2 Celery Sticks – finely diced

1/2tsp Fresh Thyme – strip the leaves from the stalk (halve if using dried)

1 Chicken Stock Cube – I use Knorr dissolved in 1.2l/2 pints boiling water

100g/4oz Vermicelli – alternatively use any fine or small pasta, egg or rice noodles

Salt and Pepper to season

Method:

Making The Roast Chicken Noodle Soup

First of all, roast a breast quarter of chicken, at 200C/180C fan, gas mark 6, 400F for 30-40 minutes, until cooked through, if not using leftover roast chicken.

One delicious roasted chicken breast quarter.
One delicious roasted chicken breast quarter.
When slightly cooled, remove the skin and shred the chicke, discarding any bone.
When slightly cooled, remove the skin and shred the chicken, discarding any bone.

Alternatively shred approximately 225g/8oz of roast chicken or turkey.

Place a large pan, over a medium heat and add the oil.

Add the diced onion, carrots and celery to the pan.
Add the diced onion, carrots and celery to the pan.

Saute the vegetables until just softened, approx 7 minutes.

Add the shredded chicken and fresh thyme to the pan.

Pour over the chicken stock.
Pour over the chicken stock.

Weigh out the noodles of your choice.

I used broken up vermicelli.
I used broken up vermicelli.

Add the noodles to the soup.

Taste for seasoning. And add salt and pepper as necessary.

Simmer for 5 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked.

Serve immediately.

Roast Chicken Noodle Soup made using Sunday dinner leftovers.

And to make a hearty meal out of this soup serve with some thick, crusty bread like my Wholemeal Cob Loaf or Wholemeal Loaf.

Also, if you want to avoid carbs altogether, you could add shredded cabbage, or spirilized courgette (zucchini).

This Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup is absolutely delicious, quick to make, fab for using up leftovers and feeds 4 people for very little. Resulting in a win-win recipe and one that I make frequently.

If you love this Roast Chicken Noodle Soup then you might want to have a look at these –

Carrot Soup also low fat,

FF Carrot Soup
Carrot Soup served with crumbled Stliton cheese.

Leek and Potato Soup leave out the cream and you will lower the calories in this delicious soup!

Leek and Potato Soup velvety comfort.
Leek and Potato Soup velvety comfort.

Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Soup.

FF Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Soup
Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Soup just add crusty bread!

Soup is one of my comfort foods. Whether it’s full of chunky veggies or blitzed to a smooth velvety texture I can always count on a bowlful to make meal feel better. Also if the recipe is quick and easy that simply adds to the pleasure of making soup. Leaving me feeling relaxed and nourished.

So, whatever you are baking, making and creating in your kitchen, have fun preparing and sharing your feast.

Sammie xx

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