Thursday 3 April 2014

Fiery Chicken Burgers

It has been such a long time since my last post, I've been super busy and unfortunately haven't eaten out anywhere interesting or cooked anything besides boring pasta dishes - until last night.

A few months ago I was faced with a plain old chicken breast for dinner and decided to throw some spices together to cook with the chicken. I was impressed with the result and I think this combination of spices works perfectly in chicken burgers.

To serve 4 you will need:
  • 4 chicken breast fillets
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon of hot pimentón
  • 1 tablespoon of sweet pimentón
  • 1/4 teaspoon of chilli flakes
  • 2 teaspoons of lime juice (either from fresh limes or a bottle)
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 4 burger rolls
  • 4 thick slices of mature cheddar
  • Sweet gem lettuce leaves
  • 4 thick slices of beef tomato
Pimentón is a type of smoked paprika that is used in Spanish cooking (e.g. chorizo) and has a wonderful flavour and colour. It comes in different varieties and is available in supermarkets in the seasoning section.


Its best to leave the chicken to marinade for several hours, between 5-8 hours if you have the time.

Centre: Chicken        Left to right: Hot pimentón; ground cumin; lime juice; olive oil; chilli flakes; sweet pimentón
 Measure out the spices into a bowl and add the lime juice and oil. Mix to form a thick paste.


Place the chicken breast fillets in a mixing bowl and rub the paste over each fillet, making sure there is a thick, even coating on each piece. If there is any of the marinade left over, pour it over the chicken. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave in the fridge until you're ready to cook.

When its time to get cooking, take the chicken out of the fridge and heat a sturdy frying pan until its nice and hot. You don't need any oil in the pan. Turn the heat down to low-medium and throw the chicken into the pan. It takes about 15-20 minutes for the chicken to cook, depending on how thick the pieces are. Keep turning them over to make sure each side gets cooked equally. Don't worry if it looks like its burning, the spices will blacken and the chicken will look a bit chargrilled.


While its cooking, prepare your burger rolls, slice up the tomato and cheese and rip off the lettuce leaves.

Once the chicken is cooked, heat up your grill (if you have one), place a thick slice of cheese on top of each chicken fillet and stick the frying pan under the grill until the cheese has melted.


Assemble your burgers and serve! I served mine with homemade chips and homemade coleslaw.




This is so easy and the chicken is really juicy and flavoursome, its the perfect dinner for a Spring evening. It has a bit of a kick to it so if your not keen on spicy food then maybe leave out the hot pimentón and chilli flakes.

If you decide to give my Fiery Chicken Burgers a go I'd love to hear how it turned out!

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