Chili Chicken Burger
I know it’s trendy right now to sing the praises of an unfussy, straight-ahead burger. Nothing but salt and pepper in the meat and a square of processed cheese melted on top. In our city of Toronto, you can pay a lot at trendy, faux-dives for the simplest of burgers. To which I say, meh. You know I can’t even with processed cheese and if my two jazz-hand waving, tutu-wearing, show-tune belting kids have taught me anything, it’s that more is sometimes most definitely more. These burgers are so much more. Or should I say, these burgers are so much more! (They’re kind of show-offs, really.)
Really not much more effort than a basic burger, these have a nice amount of spice and seasoning worked into the patties and are topped with a creamy guacamole and a cool Mexican crema. Crema is a Mexican sour cream and depending on where you live it’s not always easy to find. So I’ve given you a recipe for making one. These would be great to serve at a barbecue along with salsa and corn chips. But they’re really simple enough to whip together on an otherwise boring, old Wednesday night. It’s not summer until you’ve had a burger, so let this one welcome back the long, hot days.
Ingredients
- Makes: 4 burgers
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- for the burgers
- 1 clove garlic, minced really fine
- 1/2 red onion, minced fine
- 1 tsp (5 ml) cumin
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) chili powder
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 lb (450 g) ground chicken
- 4 thin slices of cheddar
- 3/4 to 1 cup (185 – 250 ml) guacamole
- lettuce, tomato and whatever else you like on a burger
- 4 buns
- for the crema
- 1 small container (250 ml) sour cream
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh cilantro, chopped
- pinch of salt and pepper
Method
In a small bowl, stir together the crema ingredients, cover and place in the fridge.
Get a clean plate on the counter ready to place your burger patties on.
In a large bowl, place garlic, onion, cumin, chilli powder, salt and pepper, whisked egg and chicken. Combine everything; you can try using a spoon but the best tools for the job are your clean hands. Shape the meat into patties and place on the clean plate.
I always hold my shaped patty over a bun to see if I’ve made it a slightly larger diameter since it will shrink a bit.
Heat up a pan or grill with a touch of oil and warm it up over medium heat.
Get your patties in there and allow them to cook on the first side for about five minutes.
Flip them over and cook three or four minutes before placing the slices of cheese on top.
Either place a lid on the pan or the cover on your grill to help the cheese melt.
The internal temperature should be 165 degrees.
Lightly toast your buns.
Spread a nice amount of your crema on the bottom bun, then press on some crisp lettuce.
Layer on your burger and top that with some guacamole.
Carefully put the bun lid on top and you're ready to go.
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Hey, thanks for stopping by!
We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
