Grilled Cajun Chicken Burgers

While scratching my head trying to come up with an idea for dinner one night, I thought of the leftover Sriracha Mayo Dip I used in this recipe that was still sitting in my refrigerator. It occurred to me that it would be excellent on a sandwich, a chicken sandwich. I didn't have any chicken breasts, but I did have ground chicken. I starting mulling over the idea of chicken patties or chicken burgers. I turned to my trusty friend, Pinterest, for some inspiration. I found this and this, which gave me some ideas. Then, I just made up my own recipe. Let us call them,

Grilled Cajun Chicken Burgers
 1 pound ground chicken (or grind your own) 
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup green onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/4 teaspoon of dried parsley (but fresh would be better) 
juice of 1/2 a lemon
a hand full of Panko breadcrumbs 

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add green onions and garlic to oil and saute for five minutes or until onions have softened.
 

Place ground chicken in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, parsley, and juice of 1/2 a lemon. Add Panko breadcrumbs to bowl. Add sauteed green onion, garlic, & olive oil mixture to chicken.
 

Mix by hand until all ingredients are incorporated into the chicken. Form chicken into four patties. Cook chicken burgers on hot grill (about 5-7 minutes per side) or until the center of the burger is firm to the touch.

Adding sauteed onions & garlic was a trick I learned from Cooking Light Magazine a few months ago. It was described  as a remedy for the dry turkey burger. I figured it would also do the trick for ground chicken and it did!

Serve the burgers on multi-grain Ciabatta rolls with Sriracha Maynoaise, pickle, and lettuce. We did not add cheese the first night, but ate them as leftovers a few days later with the addition of a slice of Swiss cheese. Very yummy!  

The grilled chicken patties from my inspiration recipes looked a bit more appetizing, but had been pan-fried. I thought I'd try grilling in an attempt to make them a little healthier. They tasted really good, but I am still tempted to try pan-frying to brown followed by baking to cook.