Joan Bishop has cooked several versions of chicken burgers over the past few months and this one wins hands down for flavor and ease of putting together.
Chicken mince is delicately flavoured and it is easy to add other ingredients which completely overwhelm it. Adding breadcrumbs (which works well for beef burgers) makes for a stodgy, boring chicken burger.
The Gruyere, mint and peanuts here add flavor though not distraction and bacon rashers, with their salty-smoky tang, are wrapped around each burger, adding flavour and keeping the chicken moist.
Free-range chicken is a little more expensive than the mass-produced variety but it does have more flavour.
Although we can mask and enhance chicken flavours with imaginative flavourings, I think for this recipe it is worth paying more for free-range chicken mince.
Simple and delicious, these are tender juicy patties but do keep a close eye on them while cooking.
Chicken must be cooked until the juices run clear but it is important not to overcook. Once the juices run clear when pierced with a skewer, remove from the heat or you will be left with a dried out, rather tasteless burger.
Bacon-wrapped chicken burgers
Ingredients
450g chicken mince
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
⅓ cup (60g) roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped
60g Swiss cheese (Gruyere), grated
3-4 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
6 long rashers streaky bacon
oil to brush
To serve
6 ciabatta rolls, halved
good-quality mayonnaise ( I use Best Foods)
salad leaves
3-4 tomatoes, sliced
¼ telegraph cucumber, peeled and sliced
Method
In a medium-sized bowl combine the chicken mince, red onion, peanuts, cheese, mint and sweet chilli sauce. Using a fork or your hands gently blend the mixture together.
This is a fairly moist mixture but quite easy to work with.
Tip on to a board and with damp hands shape into six equal-sized burgers about 2cm thick.
Place each burger on a bacon rasher and wrap the bacon firmly around the burger. This helps to hold the burger together and keeps it moist as it cooks.
Secure with toothpicks if you want to but I think the bacon stays in place very well without. The chicken burgers can be prepared to this stage up to 12 hours before cooking. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Bring to room temperature before cooking.
Assemble salad ingredients.
Brush the burgers with oil. Cook the burgers over medium-high heat on a barbecue hotplate or in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes each side until well browned and the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the middle of the burger.
Remove to a warm serving platter, cover with foil and then a clean teatowel to keep the burgers warm. Rest for 3-4 minutes.
To assemble:
Spread the buns with mayonnaise, top with lettuce leaves, slices of tomato and cucumber then the burger. Replace the top and serve.
