Burger Week at Arcisfoodblog: 6 posts on some of the more remarkable burgers I “encountered” in the past couple of months; either homemade or in restaurants. Kicking off with a homemade one based on the “Chick” burger from the cookbook “Hamburger Gourmet” by Hamburger.
Almost all of their ingredients are homemade, and they source their meat from “star butcher” Yves-Marie Le Bourdonnec. Blend’s cookbook gives helpful insights on how to get the burger basics right. I was also pleasantly surprised by their recipes, innovative combinations, cooking techniques, and the overall French cuisine influences. I chose this one as you have to make the chicken patties yourself.
The Recipe:
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the crème fraîche for the sauce from the recipe at home, so I had to park it for cooking some other time. I defaulted to a Mexican style chicken burger by adding a huge dollop of homemade guacamole.
The Patties
- about 500g / 12oz chicken breast fillets
- few pinches of sea salt
- a drizzle of olive oil
The Sauce
- a drizzle of olive oil
- 1 thinly sliced onion
- 200ml / 2/3 cup crème fraîche
- 75g / 3 cups of finely chopped parsley
To Serve
- 75g / 2 1/2 oz baby spinach
- Cut the fillets into small dice, mix in the olive oil and sea salt (I added some smoked paprika for the Mexican touch) and form into 4 patties, pressing them together well. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
- Brown the onion in a frying pan set over high heat with olive oil and once done, set a quarter of the onions aside. Reduce the heat to low and add the crème fraîche and parsley. Cook, stirring until reduced. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Season the patties with sea salt and cook the patties in a hot frying pan over high heat for 5 minutes on each side (I added a slice of cheese after turning).
- Toast the halved hamburger buns for about 2 minutes. Spread the sauce on the top and bottom halves, put the chicken patties on the bottom half, then top with the reserved onions and baby spinach.
What worked and what didn’t:
It is surprisingly easy to make the chicken patties yourself. Furthermore, they were nicely browned and crispy on the outside yet textured and super juicy on the inside. Unlike the processed chicken burgers you can buy in the stores, the chicken flavor really shines through. It therefore definitely pays to get yourself some good quality chicken to work with!
Grilled chicken and guacamole is a classic combination, so – as expected – it tasted great. I will definitely make these burgers again. Also with the creamy shallot sauce from the recipe as that seems a great combination too.
Verdict: 9/10
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