Ground Chicken Burgers Recipe - Rosemary Apple Chicken Burgers (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep ground chicken burgers from falling apart? ›

Chill the Patties: After shaping the patties, refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes before cooking. This helps them hold their shape and prevents them from falling apart on the grill or in the pan.

Bread crumbs: Use store-bought bread crumbs or make your own at home. Onion: Half an onion lends texture and flavor. Egg: An egg adds moisture and helps bind the chicken patties together. Seasonings: These chicken burgers are seasoned with fresh garlic, salt, and pepper.

Combining it with another ground meat like pork, beef or lamb, might seems like cheating, but it's a nice way to deliver fat and build meat-y flavor. Finely chopped bacon or sausage also works beautifully in ground chicken burgers or meatloaf.

“You can easily end up with dry and rubbery chicken burgers if you cook them to death,” warns Chef Vincent. His advice: Start with a high temperature to create a sear on both sides (probably only about one minute per side).

Bind the patty together

If you're going for a leaner meat or adding bulky ingredients (eg spring onions, onions, chillies), add an egg and a handful of breadcrumbs to bind the burgers.

Chicken burgers tend to fall apart on the grill when they are over mixed and not pressed firmly enough into a patty. A trick to prevent over mixing is when you remove the block of ground chicken from the packaging pinch off smaller 1-inch pieces of ground chicken from the block and add them to a medium bowl.

Go easy on the shaping. When you're making your burgers, try not to manhandle them too much or else you'll end up breaking the meat into smaller pieces than you have to. We recommend simply shaping the beef into a vague burger shape with the least amount handling as possible.

Another trick for ensuring that ground chicken doesn't dry out during cooking is to add moisture. Dairy works especially well for this. For chicken burgers or meatballs, consider adding a dollop of yogurt or a splash of milk to help the meat mixture bind together and stay succulent.

Is anything added to the ground chicken? Yes, vinegar and lemon juice (less than 1%) are added to the ground chicken for flavoring and to act as a natural preservative.

Use a brine

Brining your chicken is a foolproof way to not only add flavour to your roast but also to ensure you don't overcook the meat. Essentially a mix of salt, sugar and water, we love adding herbs, garlic or whole spices such as fennel and cumin to flavour the brine.

How do you know when ground chicken is done? ›

Ground chicken requires thorough cooking to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) to ensure safe consumption. One common error made by many is overcooking, which can cause the meat to become dry and tough. A kitchen thermometer can help avoid this issue.

Once your cast iron or pan is heated over medium-high heat, add three or four chicken burgers at a time to cook, making sure not to overcrowd them. Let them cook, untouched, for about four minutes. Flip the burgers and if they are charring too much for your liking, lower the heat.

It's not something that was secretly injected into the chicken and that you've accidentally sleuthed out into the open by cooking it. The bad news is that it's a coagulated concoction of fat, protein, and water that has been forming inside the chicken, which you've just released through heat.

They're moist because you didn't flip them and juices soaked into the breadcrumbs. I would try cooking them on a rack instead of directly on the surface of a pan, so air can circulate around the burger. And I wouldn't think a chicken burger would need more than about 12 minutes at 350°, unless it's a very plump burger.

Ground chicken can be thickened by adding a mixture of flour and starch. First, add the ground chicken to a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Next, mix one tablespoon of flour and one tablespoon of cornstarch together with two tablespoons of cold water.

Go easy on the shaping. When you're making your burgers, try not to manhandle them too much or else you'll end up breaking the meat into smaller pieces than you have to. We recommend simply shaping the beef into a vague burger shape with the least amount handling as possible.

The most likely cause is that your meat is too lean. Fat is required to help hamburger hold together.