So, longtime blog readers may remember that time I made crackers. In the end, the verdict was this: you may be better off, all told, just buying the damn things. The make vs. buy decision can apply to anything -- clothes, quilts, corporate acquisitions -- though of course, here on the blog, it applies most to food.
With this in mind, I did a little experiment. We're trying to be healthy around here. And in general, that means finding new favorites -- like Mark Bittman's recipe for pork in curry-mustard sauce -- and not just trying to de-calorie old standards.
We eat a lot of Indian-spiced chicken burgers. Like, a lot lot.
Ground chicken is a little hard to work with compared to ground turkey, because it's softer. It's also not quite as healthy. But: it's also a lot more moist, which makes it more delicious. Like ground turkey, it is sold in those tiny rectangular packages which seem to have a reasonable price until you realize you're not even getting a pound.
What's a budget-minded chicken-burger-craver to do? Grind your own, of course.
(warning to vegetarian readers: great big meat close-ups after the jump)
So I broke into my freezer stash of bulk-purchased chicken, and cut up some white meat from the breast:
And then deboned, trimmed, and cubed some thighs:
And fired up my never-before-used KitchenAid grinder attachment.
I kept the ground breast and ground thighs separate for the sake of
experimentation, and it was a good thing too, because look how obvious the difference is:
I cooked up a small patty each of the breast and thigh, and tasted side by side. The breast was a little bland; the thigh was a little gamey and definitely fattier. The solution: Mix them together. (And why I have no pictures of that part is a mystery, though I suspect it was because I had used my hands to mix the chicken and grabbing the camera afterward seems like a downright idiotic approach to food safety.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I recommend home-ground chicken to others? If you've got the time and the equipment, sure. It's not a quick process because of the effort it takes to trim the larger pieces of chicken, and of course the extra washing-up afterward. But it's worth a try, especially if you like Indian-spiced chicken burgers.
(I mix mine up with Penzey's rogan josh seasoning, dijon mustard, lots of sriracha, onion powder, and a splash of worchestershire. Give it a shot sometime.)
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