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When your Sunday has included a late, hearty breakfast and an afternoon filled with shopping and a stop at a sidewalk café, dinner needs to something light and simple. It would have been an ideal picnic dinner, but with the threat of temperatures that would descend with the sunset, eating indoors was the better option.
As we left the house on Sunday, I had the beginnings of a dinner plan: use the ground chicken that was defrosting. Knowing that we wouldn’t be home until mid- to late afternoon, I wanted to make a dinner that wouldn’t require either a lot of active cooking time or that would need to simmer for hours. With those conditions in mind, I knew that meatballs wouldn’t be an option, as they are much better after simmering. I also knew that grilling wasn’t a great choice, as my last set of chicken burgers that were cooked outdoors were a disaster.
Combining the two dishes that weren’t going to be made, I decided to make a slider. Taking the seasoning that I would use in a meatball and forming the patties into a smaller size, they would deliver a good amount of flavor and be able to be pan-fried. Also, with a well-seasoned slider, there would be no need for buns, which would make this meal even lighter.
Served with a delicious topping and some quickly pickled veggies, it was the perfect indoor picnic dinner!
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 2 tsp. Emeril’s Chicken Rub
- 1 shallot, minced
- salt & pepper
- olive oil
- Combine chicken, rub, and shallot in a large bowl. Mix well to combine. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.*
- Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. While heating, form chicken mixture into 12 patties. Coat frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Place 6 patties in pan and cook for 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly. Wipe residue from pan (or it will be difficult to flip next batch), coat with more olive oil, and add remaining patties. Repeat cooking directions.
- Serve immediately.
- *Mixture does not have to be refrigerated. However, allowing the mixture to chill for an hour allowed the seasonings to intensify.
[…] week I wrote about the chicken sliders that I made for an indoor picnic. These sliders are flavorful and make delicious mini-burgers […]