Cheesy Stuffed Chicken Burgers with Sour Cream and Guacamole

Let’s consider these the Southwestern version of Juicy Lucy’s but with chicken, okay? Also, am I stretching with including a burger in sandwich week? It’s between two pieces of bread, so I say it counts. Lastly, this burger-in-the-hand photo might be my new thing. This is a super-easy burger to throw together: mix some ground chicken (preferably dark meat) with seasonings and spices, stuff with cheddar cheese, grill and layer toasted buns with sour cream, lettuce, burgers, guacamole, salsa, and red onion slices. Or whatever you want to top them with.

The secret to these burgers lies in the panade, which is a mixture of fresh bread crumbs and whole milk. The panade helps the meat retain moisture, keeping the burgers juicy and tender. It’s my secret weapon to just about anything I make with ground meat! The panade completely mixes into the burgers, so it’s never like you’ll be chomping down on hunks of bread. You can use any variety of starch and fatty liquid; varying the components will add different flavors to your final product.

If you’re unfamiliar with a Juicy Lucy, it’s an inside-out beef burger stuffed with cheese to fully enclose, which forms a molten lavaflow of cheese when you bite into it. When they’re good, they’re really good, but they can be very disappointing if the cheese-to-meat ratio is off. I’m going to perfect the Juicy Lucy one day and take an obligatory burger-in-the-hand photo of it. I’m sorry I don’t have a picture of the inside of these burgers, but the photo just didn’t turn out. Guess you’ll have to make them to see for yourself!

Cheesy Stuffed Chicken Burgers with Sour Cream and Guacamole

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• Author: Amanda
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

A Southwestern-inspired Juicy Lucy, but with chicken! Chicken burgers are kept juicy and tender with a panade, then flavored with aromatics and spices. Layer toasted buns with sour cream, lettuce, burgers, guacamole, salsa and sliced red onions. You can substitute beef if you like.

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Ingredients

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• 1/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1-1/2 pounds ground chicken, preferably dark meat
• 1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup (4 ounces) coarsely shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 burger buns, split and lightly toasted
• Sour cream, for serving
• Butter lettuce, for serving
• Red onion slices, for serving
• Chipotle (or other-flavored) salsa, for serving
• Guacamole, for serving

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Instructions

1. Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan to high heat.
2. Combine the fresh bread crumbs and whole milk in a small mixing bowl, stirring together. Let sit until the bread soaks up the milk, about 5 minutes. Mash into a paste with a fork.
3. Combine the bread crumb-milk mixture, ground chicken, yellow onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and 2 ounces cheddar in a large mixing bowl.  Mix together using your hands until all of the ingredients are incorporated, taking care not to overmix.  Chill the mixture for about 15 minutes to make it easier to work with.
4. Portion the meat mixture into 8 equal-sized portions; add the remaining 2 ounces of cheese in the center equally amongst four patties.  Place the remaining 4 portions on top to form cheese-bellied burgers.  Make sure the edges are sealed (no cheese exposed) by pressing the mixture together.  At this point, you can refrigerate until ready to use, or grill immediately.
5. When ready to grill, thoroughly grease the grill grates or grill pan with vegetable oil.  Transfer the patties to the grill and reduce the heat to medium.  Grill, flipping once, until the burgers are cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes per side.
6. Serve each patty layered on the bun with sour cream, butter lettuce, red onion slices, chipotle salsa and guacamole.

Notes

Inspiration: Cheese-Bellied Chicken Burgers with Sour Cream and Guacamole from What’s Gaby Cooking by Gaby Dalkin

• Category: Burgers, Chicken