I made these beauties for super bowl sunday this year. I knew I wanted to feel like I was eating a jalapeno popper but wanted to create a full meal experience instead of the traditional fried or bacon wrapped popper. The only way I think this could get any better would be to add fried poppers as a topping to this burger... now I'm salivating. I added two styles of jalapenos to this burger, pickled and fresh and they are both equally important. The fresh gives you that bite with the heat in the back of the mouth and the pickled are a homemade version that are sweet and spicy. They are super easy to make and to have, sitting pretty in a mason jar in your fridge for any fun food adventure. I will share the recipe below. The cream cheese spread has shredded cheddar to give you that sharp cheese flavor everyone craves on a burger, green onions to for a nice bite with the sweet heat jalapenos to round it all off with that balanced sweet heat combo. Then we have crispy bacon, caramelized onions, arugula and chipotle aioli . YUM.
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Burgers
Yields 6-8 burgers
3 yellow onions, sliced
3 tbsp butter
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup lager beer
2 lbs ground chicken
1/2 cup pickled sweet jalapenos, chopped
(recipe below)
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 (8oz) blocks softened cream cheese
1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, chopped
2 large fresh jalapenos, seeded and diced
10 slices of bacon
Chipotle Aioli
Arugula
Brioche Buns
Place butter and onions in large skillet and cook at medium high heat. Once they begin to soften, add worcestershire, sugar, and beer. Season with some salt and pepper. Turn to medium low heat, stirring occasionally until onions become sweet and super soft and liquid has reduced out.
Add bacon slices to a parchment lined baking sheet and place into a cold oven. Turn oven to 400 and cook about 20- 25 mins until desired crispness.
To a large bowl, add cilantro, pickled jalapenos,
ground chicken, lawry's and garlic powder. Using your hands, mix well and form into 6-8 patties, depending on size preference. Place onto foil lined baking sheet.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together softened cream cheese, chopped fresh jalapenos, cheddar and green onions. Heat a large cast iron skillet with 1-2 tsp of a neutral flavored oil. Place burgers into pan to cook in batches, making sure to not crowd the pan. Cook about 3 minutes before flipping, then add a generous spread of the cream cheese mix to the tops of each burger. Cover and cook an additional 3-5 mins or until cream cheese has melted and the internal temperature reads 165 degrees. Toast buns. Assemble burgers with chipotle aioli, burger, caramelized onions, bacon, arugula and more chipotle aioli. ENJOY!
Pickled sweet heat Jalapenos:
Yields one large mason jar
10 large jalapenos
1 garlic clove
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
Slice jalapenos and remove stems, set aside. Add remaining ingredients to a large sauce pot and bring to a boil. Once sugar and salt have dissolved, turn off heat and add in all sliced jalapenos. Let cool 10-15 mins then add to a large jar. Cool in fridge at least 4 hours.
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