Description
Ground chicken is a great alternative to ground beef or ground turkey that I like to use on occasion. I’ve used it in recipes before like my Freezer Chicken Nuggets, Low FODMAP Chicken Tacos, and Lemon Feta Chicken Bowls. You can really use ground chicken in place of any type of ground meat for slightly different flavor and nutrition.
Chicken breasts are about 99% lean, and chicken thighs are about 93% lean. Compared to beef and turkey (both 93%), chicken is a leaner option. But ground chicken is always much more expensive. I can get 93/7 ground beef for about $4.50 per pound and 93/7 ground turkey for about $4.00 per pound. But ground chicken thighs and ground chicken breasts are normally about $4.50 per pound and $5.50 per pound, respectively.
Today, I wanted to try saving some money and making my own ground chicken. Since I can get boneless skinless chicken breasts for about $2.50 per pound (and thighs for about $3.00 per pound), I could save over half by just grinding it myself. And it’s very simple to do; let me show you.
Instructions
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Trim the fat off your chicken, and cut into 1" cubes. Transfer to a cookie sheet. Either chicken breasts or thighs will work here, but today I'm going with breasts.
- Freeze the food processor blade and the cookie sheet (uncovered) for 30 minutes.
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Pulse in a food processor (about 10 times of 1 second each) until you have a ground chicken consistency, about the size of a grain of rice. Transfer to a bowl. You may need to blend in batches depending on how much chicken you have; I did 3 for these 4 large breasts.
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At this point you have raw ground chicken! Use any way you'd normally use any ground meat. Here I'm just sauteing it in a pan until fully cooked, and adding in a can of fava beans, some Unsweetened BBQ Sauce, and spices (chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, black pepper, and salt)
