Chicken Chickpea Burgers with self ground chicken

Kenji Lopez Alt recently posted about these chicken chickpea burgers. They are made with ground chicken and chickpeas, which as soon as I saw them I had to try. They yield a very interesting texture and are simply seasoned with a nice bite, however after trying them I thought I could improve them by grinding my own chicken and adding some different spices and toppings for my preferences.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 or 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or 1 lb ground chicken)

  • 1/2 of a 15 oz can chickpeas - drained, then mashed

  • 1/4 white onion, peeled, finely minced

  • 3 g (~1 tsp) Smoked Paprika

  • 3 g (~1 tsp) Chile Powder

  • Coarse Kosher Salt

  • Fresh Ground Pepper

  • 1/2 tbsp Peanut or vegetable oil

METHOD

  1. To start, separate the chicken thighs into skins, meat, and bones. The bones can be kept for stock. Cut each chicken thighs into roughly one-inch chunks and the skin into two-inch sheets.

  2. Using a scale, weigh out the lean chicken chunks. Calculate how much skin needs to be added to make a 90% lean, 10% fat mixture (example: I had 11 oz of chicken thigh, so I used about 1.2 oz of skin). Spread out the chicken on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. This will help prevent smearing in the food processor. Note: While you wait mash the chickpeas, mince the onion, prepare the yogurt sauce, and any other burger toppings.

  3. Place the partially frozen chicken thighs and skin in the bowl of a food processor and pulse about 10-15 times until a ground chicken mixture forms. Test it by picking some up and see if you can form it in your hands. Note: The chicken can also be hand-chopped into the ground meat as I did in my chicken nugget recipe.

  4. Now to a large mixing bowl add 8 ounces of the ground chicken, mashed chickpeas, finely minced onion, smoked paprika, and chile powder. Mix with your hands until a loose but homogenous mixture forms. Form the chicken and chickpea mixture into 3 to 4 evenly sized burgers. Make them a little wider than your bun with an indentation as they will shrink when cooking. Generously salt and pepper the exterior of the burgers.

  5. At the stove, set a cast iron over medium heat and add in a half tablespoon of peanut oil. Once hot, place the patty away from you and cook until browned and the exterior starts to crisp up about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the burger and cook for another 3-4 minutes. If using, add the cheese at the last minute to melt. Pull the burgers off when the internal temp is 165 and it is nicely browned on the exterior.

  6. Assemble the burger with a toasted bun, yogurt sauce, tomatoes, lettuce, and pickled onion or whatever your desired toppings are.

Garlic, Lemon, Dill Yogurt Sauce

  • 100 g nonfat plain yogurt

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1/2 lemon zest

  • 1/2 juice of lemon

  • 1/2 tsp dried or fresh dill

  • Coarse coarse kosher salt to taste

  • Fresh ground pepper to taste

Burger Accouterments

  • Brioche Burger Buns

  • Pickled Onion

  • Tomato

  • Lettuce

  • Cheese

20190624-DSC01796.jpg
Cross section with the self ground chicken. This has a loose texture closer to a typical beef burger.

Cross section with the self ground chicken. This has a loose texture closer to a typical beef burger.

Kenji’s with lean ground chicken. Do you notice the texture difference?

Kenji’s with lean ground chicken. Do you notice the texture difference?

Ethan Chlebowski