Chicken burgers aren't just for sissies anymore. Between the pretzel bun, cheddar & jack cheeses, avocados, and juicy, well-seasoned, smoked chicken patties - I'll put these guys up against a moo-burger any day of the week!
Makes (6) ⅓ lb burgers
- Ingredients -
2 lbs chicken, cubed
1 lime
1 jalapeño, roughly chopped (make it 2 if you really like spicy)
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup cheddar and jack crumbles
For Serving
1 avocado, sliced
6 buns (we used pretzel buns)
- Tools -
Weston Manual Kitchen KitWeston Meat Grinder
Weston Burger Press +
Patty Paper
Weston Smoker + Wood Smoking Chips
Before You Start...
- Place your cubed chicken into the freezer when you're ready to begin. It's important that you keep the chicken as cold as possible until it's ready to cook. We also like to put the metal parts (head, plate, knife, auger) of the grinder into the freezer with the chicken at this point, to keep those cold as well.
- Soak your wood chips. They'll need at least a half hour of soaking.
- Preheat the smoker. You'll only want it up to 160°, so keep it very low when you start. The best way to keep the temperature down in a propane smoker is to keep the top damper closed and open the side dampers. Wind makes a play, but you should be able to triumph over the elements. Also be sure to fill your water bowl right away.
- Cover a smoker rack in foil and poke holes in the foil to vent.
1. Zest your lime completely with your
Manual Kitchen Kit.
2. Use the Kitchen Kit to juice the lime.
3. With the chopper inserted, place the jalapeño and cilantro into the kitchen kit with the lime juice & zest and turn the handle to mix and chop.
4. Place the jalapeño-cilantro-lime mixture into a large bowl with the cubed chicken and remaining ingredients (except for the cheese). Mix it until the chicken is well coated.
5. Place the chicken onto your
Meat Grinder tray and grind the mixture through a coarse plate.
6. Hand mix the cheese into your ground meat quickly (you want to keep it cold, so don't touch the meat very much).
7. Adjust your
Burger Press to ⅓ lb, place a piece of
Patty Paper on the bottom, and a ball of the ground chicken on the patty paper. Place a second piece of paper on top of the ground chicken, then shut the Patty Press to form your burger.
Remove and repeat!
8. Time to smoke the burgers (you could also freeze them at this point until you're ready to cook them). With your
Smoker preheated to 160°, place the burgers onto the smoker rack.
Let the burgers smoke for 45 minutes to an hour, until the internal temperature of each burger is 160°F. While they're smoking, keep an eye on the temperature of the smoker. You really don't want it much higher than 160, as the cheese will get rubbery rather than melty, and you could easily dry out the chicken.
9. Serve with a couple of slices of avocados on pretzel buns - no condiments needed. Your chicken burgers will be awesomely juicy, and the avocados will add a little creaminess.
