Chicken-Apple-Bacon Burgers

Test Kitchens staffer Kathryn Conrad enjoys this burger with a cold, crisp beer and very little else. "The flavor is in the burger. The best condiment is the residual flavor of the charcoal from grilling," she notes, "and perhaps some honey mustard."

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2  bacon slices
• 1/4  cup  chopped red onion
• 1  pound  skinless, boneless chicken breast, coarsely chopped
• 2  teaspoons  chopped fresh sage
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1  granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and cut crosswise into 8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices
• 4  (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls

Preparation

Prepare grill.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, and crumble. Add onion to drippings in pan, and saute 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly.

Place chicken in a food processor; process until coarsely ground. Combine chicken, bacon, onion, sage, salt, and pepper. Divide chicken mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.

Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done. Place apple slices on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 1 minute on each side. Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Place patties on bottom halves of rolls; top each serving with 2 apple slices and top half of roll.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

341 (27% from fat)

Fat:

10.1g (sat 3.1g,mono 3.9g,poly 2g)

Protein:

26.4g

Carbohydrate:

34.4g

Fiber:

2g

Cholesterol:

57mg

Iron:

2.7mg

Sodium:

740mg

Calcium:

70mg