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

FAQs

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

If you find your burgers falling apart, try adding an egg or some extra bread crumbs. You could also try chilling the burgers in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before cooking them, which should help them stay together during the cooking process.

Ground chicken is a leaner alternative to ground beef or pork, but be sure to use white meat chicken. You can purchase boneless, skinless chicken breasts and ask the butcher to grind them for you, or — for the most control over texture and consistency — grind the chicken yourself in a food processor.

Chicken is a naturally lean meat with a much lower fat-to-protein ratio compared to beef. Because protein tightens when it cooks, when there's no fat to break it up it leaves behind a very tough piece of meat. Less fat also means less moisture, so a dry patty is inevitable when you use ground chicken.

Chicken Burger Ingredients

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.

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.

Excess fat will actually lead to your patties falling apart more - not less. You absolutely want fat in there (I like 85/15 but 80/20 lean/fat is good too) but the fat doesn't hold the meat together. Add some binders, bread crumbs and an egg are the two most common.

Chuck is the most commonly used cut of beef in burger blends. Marbled throughout and well-balanced in flavor with a decent lean-to-fat ratio, chuck steak is generally the primary cut used in burger blends and is supplemented with one or two other cuts of meat. Sirloin or Tri-Tip.

Ground chicken doesn't contain much fat, although using ground dark meat chicken is a little better than using ground white meat. This means that the meat just doesn't want to stick together—it doesn't want to form a patty that will hold. Therefore the patties tend to be fragile and fall apart on a grill.

Milk: Helps to moisten the breadcrumbs, creating a tender, juicy chicken burger. Olive Oil: Used for cooking onions and also provides a touch of rich, savory flavor. Minced Onion: Cooking the onion first brings out the natural sugars, which in turn hold onto more moisture making for a super-juicy burger.

Also, since ground poultry has less fat than ground beef (as a rule), it's not a bad idea to add some moisture to ground chicken. The best way (in my opinion) to do this is to add one egg yolk (not the white) for every 1 1/2 (one and a half) pounds of uncooked ground meat.

What is the white stuff on chicken burgers? ›

The white stuff coming out of chicken as it cooks is simply extra protein that dissolves in water and is forced out of the meat by heat. Food scientist Topher McNeil, PhD, explains, “The [chicken] muscles themselves actually contract and squeeze out the liquid that's in between muscle cells.”

Pound for pound, chicken is the choice that gives you fewer calories and saturated fats compared with beef. However, that's inverted if you're considering a deep fried chicken burger, such as the Crispy Louisiana or the Southern Chicken.

Eating a chicken burger can be part of a balanced diet, but it's important to consider the nutritional content and preparation of the burger. Chicken burgers can be a good source of protein, but they may also be high in fat and sodium if they are fried or prepared with added oils and sauces.

Is a chicken patty healthy? Ground chicken burgers offer a healthier alternative to traditional beef burgers, with fewer calories and lower saturated fat content, while still packing a solid protein punch. This makes them an excellent choice for those looking to enjoy a juicy burger without compromising on nutrition.

Add 1 egg yolk per pound of hamburger. It won't add appreciably to the fat content and will bind the meat beautifully. The other thing you can do is add canned, drained, crushed black beans or chickpeas to the hamburger. The starch from the beans will bind the meat together and add an interesting taste.

Tips for grilled chicken burgers:

If you don't think your patties are firm enough for the grill, place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

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.