Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers

This is a recipe from Rachael Ray.  I don't believe she eats this stuff.  These burgers are huge!  I ate half of one and was stuffed.  They are tasty, though.  The burgers made my son happy because although he likes burgers he only prefers to eat chicken.  I would recommend making them much smaller. If you are going to make them this big then cook them a lot longer than she recommends.  I cooked them about 8 minutes on each side.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers
by Rachael Ray

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 slices Canadian bacon
2 pounds ground chicken breast
2 teaspoons sweet paprika, eyeball it in your palm
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend (recommended:  Montreal Steak Seasoning) or salt and pepper
1 shallot, finely chopped
4 deli slices Swiss Cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise or reduced fat mayonnaise, eyeball it
3 rounded tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly chopped tarragon leaves, 4 sprigs
4 kaiser rolls or sandwich size sour dough English muffins, split and toasted
8 leaves leaf lettuce
1 vine ripened tomato, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat grill pan, nonstick griddle, large nonstick skillet or table top electric grill to medium heat.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil and Canadian bacon. Warm bacon and caramelize it at edges.  About 1 to 2 minutes on each side.  Remove to a piece of foil.  Fold over loosely to keep warm.  {This keeps the Canadian bacon from getting dried out.}

Combine chicken, paprika, poultry seasoning, grill seasoning, and shallot.  Score meat with the side of your hand to separate into 4 equal amounts.  Make 4 large patties.  {Or make 8 smaller ones.}  3/4 to 1 inch thick.  Drizzle patties with oil and place on hot grill pan, griddle or in skillet. Cook 5 minutes on each side, until chicken is cooked through.

Top patties with reserved cooked Canadian bacon and Swiss cheese. Fold each slice of cheese in  half to fit the burger.  Cover loosely with foil.  Turn off pan and let cheese melt, 2 minutes.

Combine mayonnaise, mustard, and tarragon.  Slather bun tops or English muffin tops with sauce.  Place Cordon Bleu burgers on bun bottoms and top with lettuce and tomato.  Put bun or muffin tops in place.  Serve with oven fries.  {I served with sweet potato waffle fries.}

Enjoy!