If I get to pick one recipe which brought me immense happiness off late, then it has to be this grilled chicken burger with homemade hamburger buns!
At the beginning of this year, I had made a commitment to myself and that is to try my hands on seemingly intimidating recipes which is little deviated from mainstream.
With that somewhat vague resolution at the back of my mind, I usually shortlist recipes that I feel like trying and then share them here on our blog.
When I thought of making a juicy grilled chicken burger at home, my subconscious mind reminded me the commitment and forced me to think how to make this apparently easy grilled chicken burger not so mainstream!
At that very moment, the idea of making hamburger buns from scratch at home popped up and with so many amazing recipes available out there, the idea got materialized way too quickly!
Hence, I bring to you not only a great-tasting juicy grilled chicken burger, but also the most amazing homemade hamburger buns which are super-soft and the best buns your grilled chicken burger can ever get!
Making any kind of bread at home is totally therapeutic to me; when I pull out a perfectly baked bread from the oven, my heart and soul feel a different kind of satisfaction which I cannot possibly describe in words.
The happiness increases a thousand times when you bake something as beautiful as these hamburger buns!
Thanks to the push from my subconscious mind, I tried my hands on this stunning homemade hamburger buns which are so satisfying to make on your own, but may seem somewhat difficult or time-consuming to make for many.
But actually, after making this on my own, I can assure you that they are very easy to pull off. Kneading a dough with hands has always been one of the most regular tasks in kitchen and that’s all there is to it.
If you are scared about yeast, don’t be; these cute little creatures are there to make your life more beautiful by enabling you to bake many such beautiful breads at home!
You may have already started wondering if this is a recipe of grilled chicken burger or homemade hamburger buns! Well, you will get both the recipes, I promise!
But I know I am getting carried away with the joy of baking my own hamburger buns at home and not talking enough about the star of the show that is the grilled chicken burger.
No, I can neither sideline this super-tasty burger as it is gorgeous in itself and can speak for its own awesomeness through the spectacular pictures above & below, nor I intend to.
I had made a chicken burger long back with a crispy burger patty and that had its own attraction; but today’s grilled chicken burger is a different ballgame altogether.
The burger patty is bursting with flavors thanks to the flavorful herbs and couple of secret ingredients which I am gonna share shortly.
I had used dried herbs in my grilled chicken burger, but the best bet would be the fresh ones if you have them handy.
Making a chicken patty for your homemade grilled chicken burger can be a very easy thing to pull off as you just need to shape the chicken mince in order to fit them inside your hamburger buns and the rest will be done by the griller.
But the most important part is to flavor your chicken burger patty right to make it a delightful experience for your taste buds. This is where the trick i.e. the secret ingredients come into play.
Boneless chicken mince is somewhat bland in taste specially if you buy ready minced chicken. I prefer to mince boneless chicken thighs using my trusty grinder; but you can definitely use store-bought minced chicken by all means.
To make the grilled chicken burger juicy and moist inside, the trick is to add finely chopped sautéed onion which will not only add moisture but also some sweetness of its own.
Adding raw onion will come in the way of succulent burger when you take a bite and won’t be a pleasant experience.
Another secret ingredient to make this chicken burger insanely delish is white sandwich bread which adds incredible tenderness to the chicken and make your grilled chicken burger simply out-of-this-world!
Let’s get on to the recipe of grilled chicken burger below to know more!
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- All-purpose flour – 500 gms (3 & ½ cups)
- Active dry yeast – 2 & ½ tsp
- Warm water – 1 cup, at 110 F
- Egg – 2, large
- Unsalted butter – 60 gms (3 tbsp), melted
- Sugar – 3 tbsp
- Salt – 1 & ¼ tsp
- Milk – 1 tbsp
- Sesame seeds – 2 tsp
- Chicken thigh – 500 gms, boneless & skinless
- Onion – 1, medium, finely chopped
- Olive oil – 8 tbsp
- Garlic – 6 to 8 cloves, minced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- White sandwich bread – 5 slices, borders removed
- Sugar – 1 tsp
- Dried parsley – 1 tsp
- Dried thyme – 2 tsp
- Dried oregano – 1 tsp
- Fresh mint leaves – ½ cup, finely chopped
- Smoked paprika – 1 & ½ tbsp
- Egg – 1
- Caramelized onion – ½ cup (Thinly slice & fry about 2 large onions until golden brown)
- Tomato – 2, large
- Lettuce – 5 to 6 leaves
- Mayonnaise – 4 tbsp or more as per liking
- Take the warm water in a large bowl and add the yeast & sugar to it. Let it rest for 5 minutes or until the water turn frothy which means the yeast is activated.
- Now add 1 egg (reserving the other for egg wash), melted butter and salt to the bowl. Whisk everything thoroughly to mix well.
- Now to effectively knead the dough, as I will be kneading by hands, I add the flour in small installment. Add one-fourth of the dough and using a wooden spoon mix it into the wet ingredient.
- Once all the added flour is incorporated, add next batch of flour and continue mixing with wooden spoon. After adding the final batch of flour and mixing as much as possible with the wooden spoon, start kneading your dough with hands.
- You will have to knead the dough for 10 to 15 minutes until it turns into a smooth and soft dough which springs back upon touching.
- Oil a bowl generously with olive oil and put the dough in it. Flip it to coat both sides with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm spot for 2 hours until the dough is doubled in size.
- After 2 hours, uncover the bowl and knock out the air from the dough and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Press the dough lightly to make a rectangular shape, no need to be too perfect but somewhat rectangular shape will do.
- Now cut the dough into 10 equal portions. If you want extra large burgers, you can cut it into 8 equal portions. I went ahead with 10.
- Take each portion at a time and shape it into a mini round loaf. Once all the portions are shaped, transfer them to a greased baking sheet keeping enough gap between 2 loafs.
- Ideally you should place your buns in 2-1-2-1 sequence on the baking sheet which means 2 loafs in a row and then 1 in the next row; again 2 in the next and 1 after that. I did a 2-1-2 sequence as I could fit in 5 loafs only in my baking sheet and left the remaining dough to rest.
- Now lightly dust the shaped dough with flour and cover them with plastic wrap without applying any pressure as that will prevent them from rising. Let them rest for another 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 190 C / 375 F and place your wire rack at the center of the oven. When the shaped buns are ready to bake, prepare an egg wash by whisking the remaining 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of milk in a small bowl using a fork to mix evenly.
- Then brush very gently this egg & milk mixture over the top surface of the dough with a very light hand without applying any pressure whatsoever as even very light pressure may deflate the buns.
- Finally, sprinkle sesame seeds on top of each bun to give them the authentic hamburger bun look.
- Now bake these hamburger buns in the preheated oven for about 15 to 17 minutes or until they turn golden brown on top. Let them cool down for 20 minutes after which your hamburger buns are ready to assemble.
- Wash & pat dry the chicken thighs. Cut each chicken thigh into small pieces and grind them in a grinder until nicely ground. Set it aside until needed.
- Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and once the oil is hot, add chopped onion and minced garlic.
- Sauté onion & garlic on medium heat for few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the sugar and let the onion caramelize for 5 to 8 minutes on medium flame. Once the onions turn golden brown and nicely caramelized, switch off the flame and set aside.
- Cut the sandwich bread into small pieces and add them to a chopper or food processor attaching the chopping blade. Add dried parsley, dried thyme, dried oregano, fresh mint leaves, sautéed onion-garlic and paprika to the food processor.
- Process the mixture until it looks and feels like breadcrumbs. Do not over-process as it may tend to become a dough instead of fluffy breadcrumbs.
- Transfer the bread mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add chicken mince, fresh mint leaves, egg, 4 tablespoons of olive oil and salt & pepper to taste.
- Mix everything together using your hands or a spatula until all the ingredients are well combined. Divide the mixture into 4 or 5 portions. Take each portion at a time and shape it in round, then flatten it to make a burger patty. You can freeze the patties at this stage.
- Place a grill pan on stove-top over medium heat and let it become very hot. Then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Once the oil is very hot, place the chicken burger patty on the grill pan and grill them for 5 minutes. Then flip it over and let the other side cook for another 5 minutes. If you are unsure if your grilled chicken burger patty is cooked through or not, you can insert a toothpick into the patty; if it goes inside without any resistance and comes out clean, your burger patty is cooked through.
- Remove the cooked chicken burger patty from pan and set aside for assembling the grilled chicken burger.
- To assemble a grilled chicken burger, cut a hamburger bun into half cross-sectionally. Spread about a tablespoon of mayo over the cut side of bottom half.
- Place few lettuce leaves, then put the grilled chicken patty on top of lettuce leaves. Finish the burger with couple of slices of tomato and about a teaspoon of caramelized onion.
- Cover the burger with the top half and secure everything with a toothpick before serving. Serve your grilled chicken burger with ketchup and more caramelized onion on the side. Enjoy!
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