Smokin’ Fruity Pecan Chicken Burgers

We raise a lot of our own meat in our small Midwest farming community of 964 townsfolk and free-range poultry seems to abound. My Smokin’ Fruity Pecan

Chicken Burgers are just an up-town version of our every day ground chicken patties.

Ingredients:

Topping:

¼ cup wasabi mayonnaise or salad dressing

¼ cup raspberry-walnut vinaigrette

1 cup broccoli slaw mix

¼ cup crushed pineapple, drained, reserve ju

¼ cup red grapes, halved

Glaze:

¼ cup cherry butter (or all-fruit cherry spread)

¼ cup pineapple juice

½ teaspoon celery seed

½ teaspoon allspice

pinch of sea salt

Patties:

1½ pounds ground chicken

1 large egg, beaten

1½ teaspoons sea salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions

¼ cup sweetened dried cherries

½ cup finely chopped salted pecans

Vegetable oil for grill

6 slices provolone cheese

12 (1-inch thick) slices Ciabatta bread

Instructions:

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high.

To make topping, combine mayonnaise and vinaigrette in a medium mixing bowl. Add slaw mix, pineapple, and grapes to mixture. Toss, thoroughly coating slaw and fruit. Set aside.

To make glaze, whisk together all ingredients in small bowl. Set aside.

To make the patties, combine chicken, egg, salt, pepper, onions, cherries and pecans in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly, but do not compact meat. Form mixture into six equal patties; brush tops with glaze. When grill is ready, brush the grill rack with vegetable oil. Place the patties on the rack, cover, and cook until done, about 4-6 minutes per side, turning patties once, during grilling. (Brush top of turned patties with glaze.) Top each patty with a slice of cheese when done. During last minutes of grilling, place Ciabatta slices on the outer edges of the grill rack to toast lightly, turning bread once.

To assemble burgers, place burger on slice of bread. Top burger with broccoli slaw mixture. Cap sandwich with another slice of Ciabatta bread. Makes 6 burgers.