Chicken Cakes – Now with more power!

This post was originally going to be a Wayback Wednesday because I made something that I have blogged before. But, it’s time for a full update. You see, I got this wonderful machine for Christmas:

That’s 1000 watts of processing power right there, my friend! (Insert Tim Allen-style primate ooping noises here.) Prior to this colossus, I only had one of those little mini-prep food processors that really didn’t fit much in its one tiny little bowl. So, the first time I made chicken cakes, I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to process all the chicken all at once. But wait, let’s back up – chicken cakes! No, not for dessert – there’s no frosting involved. We’re talking cakes as in the style of crab cakes. Call it a fritter if it makes you feel better.

This time I processed a couple slices of bread, left them in the bowl, and then chucked in the chicken and everything else, processed it all once in about 4 super quick pulses. Power, baby!! Lots of power!

If you were to look carefully at that picture, you might notice that it’s ground beef in there, not ground chicken. I may have neglected to take a picture of the chicken, but that’s okay. Ground chicken still looks gross, even if it is in a bigger bowl. I may have also made meatballs, but that’s a different post.

The other streamlining step I took was to skip forming individual cakes outside of the pan, and instead to scoop the chicken mixture directly out of the bowl with a large cookie scoop and then just flatten them a bit with the back of the scoop once in the pan.

Chicken cakes tend to hold their shape in the pan quite well and are easy to flip. And even though I did make this recipe the other night mostly just because I wanted to grind something up in the new machine, I also made them because they are delicious. Served with a little horseradish mayo, they are quite delightful in their own right.  So, get past the name and the thoughts of ground up raw poultry and process some up yourself.  Power is fun!

High Power Chicken Cakes

2  slices whole wheat or white bread
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon each: garlic powder, parsley flakes, minced onion or whatever other spices you have on hand that sound good.  I think I also put in a little cayenne pepper and/or chili powder for a little kick.
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vegetable oil + one teaspoon of butter

Process bread in food processor.  Then, if your food processor can handle it, dump everything else in and pulse a few times until the chicken is ground and the ingredients are well mixed.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil and the butter.  When the butter is fully melted and starting to foam a little, start scooping the mixture into the pan, about 1/3 cup at a time or more.  Flatten each cake out a little with the back of the scoop and cook for 7 minutes until well browned on the first side.  Flip, and cook for another 7 minutes.  Serve hot with spicy horseradish mayonnaise.

Spicy Horseradish Mayonnaise

Combine several tablespoons of mayonnaise with a tablespoon of horseradish, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a teaspoon of chili powder.  Add more or less of any ingredient to taste.