What’s on Your Plate
Curry chicken burgers are your trip to India on burger night. Ground chicken gets seasoned with curry powder, dried jalapeño, freeze-dried cilantro, and raisins, then topped with a homemade apricot Major Grey’s Chutney. Serve it on naan with a cool yogurt cucumber salad and curried bulgur on the side for a complete meal that is anything but ordinary.
Step by Step Photos
Curry Chicken Burgers Recipe
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Curry Chicken Burger
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 16 ounce Ground chicken
- ¼ cup Wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon Apricot preserves
- 2 tablespoon *Curry powder
- 2 tablespoon Raisins
- ½ teaspoon Jalapeno peppers, dried
- 1 teaspoon Cilantro, freeze dried
- 1 teaspoon Peanut oil, or unflavored oil
Instructions
- Mise en place
- Combine the ground chicken with the preserves, raisins and spices.
- Form into patties and let rest at least 30 minutes.
- You may flash freeze the burgers then vacuum seal them. Defrost before cooking.
- Bring a cast iron pan to high heat. Add the oil to the pan and let the oil get hot.
- Add the patties to the pan then cover the pan and let the patties cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover and flip the burgers. Cook until the burgers have reached 165 then remove and serve,
- Serve the burgers with lettuce, naan, cucumber salad and offer chutney,
Video
Nutrition
Monday is burger night at our house, but nobody said the burger has to stay in its lane. This week the spice cabinet won the argument, and the result was a curry chicken burger that tastes like it wandered out of a tandoori kitchen and onto a bun — or in this case, onto a warm piece of naan.
The flavor backbone here is *Penzey’s Now Curry, a bright, well-balanced blend that does the heavy lifting without needing a dozen individual jars. Crushed jalapeño brings a gentle heat, cilantro adds its grassy freshness, and — the part that surprises people — a handful of raisins goes right into the patty. When the burgers cook, those raisins plump up into little pockets of sweetness that play beautifully against the curry. If you have ever had a good curried chicken salad with grapes, you already understand why this works.
Juicy Chicken Burgers
Ground chicken is lean, and lean ground poultry has a reputation for cooking up dry and crumbly. The fix is wheat germ. Worked into the mixture, it acts as a binder the same way breadcrumbs would, but it also holds onto moisture and adds a faint nuttiness that suits the curry. The patties hold their shape on the cutting board, hold together in the pan, and stay juicy in the middle.
These cook beautifully in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron gives you the deep, even browning that makes the curry spices bloom — you want that crust. Resist the urge to press down on the patties; all that does is squeeze the juices out onto the pan where they do you no good at all.
About That Chutney — A Note for Mango Allergies
Mango chutney is the classic partner for curry, but here is something not everyone knows: mango is in the same botanical family as poison ivy and poison oak, and people sensitive to urushiol can react to it. That is the case in our house, so I make a quick chutney with apricot preserves instead. Warmed with mustard seed and a little of the same curry blend, apricot gives you the same sweet-tangy glossy finish — spooned generously over the hot burger — with none of the worry. Honestly, I am not sure I would go back to mango even if I could.
Why Curry Chicken Burgers work
Using wheat germ as a binder brings a nutty flavor and nutrients that bread crumbs don’t. Letting the burgers sit and flash freeze and then later defrost gives them time to marinate and get all that flavor. Because apricot preserves and raisins have natural sugars, these burgers brown beautifully while keeping the inside nice and moist.
Common Mistakes and Gotchas
A list of common mistakes and Gotchas
- Be sure to let the burgers sit for about 30 minutes before cooking them so all the flavors can come together.
- Chicken is poultry so it has to cook to 166 F 73 C to be safe to eat. Use an instant-read thermometer. Don’t rely on your eyes.
- You can omit the jalapeno if you are spicy sensistive.
- Please use a good curry powder, like *Penzey’s Now Curry. It really makes a difference.
Recommended Equipment
A great burger starts before the beef hits the heat.
A reliable scale, a proper burger press, accurate thermometers, and a solid cast iron surface give you control at every step.
These are the tools worth having.
Serving and Storage
Serving
Skip the bun. These curry chicken burgers want naan — warm, pillowy, and perfect for tearing off pieces to scoop up stray chutney. Alongside, I served curried bulgur studded with more raisins, and a cooling cucumber yogurt salad that does what raita does for any curry: gives your palate a soft place to land between bites. A little lettuce under the patty keeps everything fresh.
The whole plate comes together like a deconstructed curry dinner, and it reheats well enough that the leftover patty made an excellent lunch tucked into the remaining naan.
Storing
We recommend flash freezing then vacuum sealing these burgers so that they get a chance to marinate before they are cooked. After they are cooked, if you have leftovers, keep them covered and reheat them alone in the microwave.
FAQ
Can I use ground turkey instead of ground chicken?
Of course you can use ground turkey instead of ground chicken. The flavor will be slightly different, but very good.
Can I make the patties ahead?
We highly recommend that you make the patties ahead, flash freeze them, and vacuum seal them before freezing. That way they get time to marinate, both in the freezing and defrosting times. If you do not want to freeze them, let them sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
What can I substitute for wheat germ?
You can substitute bread crumbs or potato flakes.
Is mango chutney safe for people with poison ivy allergies?
No, mangoes are not safe for people with poison ivy allergies. Apricot preserves make a great substitute in chutney.
Transcript of Curry Chicken Burgers
Transcript
Good afternoon and welcome to Good Plate’s Kitchen.
Today I want to talk to you about curry chicken burger.
I know that sounds kind of strange. And you know what?
They are really, really good.
So we have the taste of curry in a chicken burger.
Okay, so our chicken burgers have ground
chicken, which you can find at the supermarket.
It’s pre ground for you.
Or if you want to, you can ground your own chicken.
Then, as filler, we’re using wheat germ.
Wheat germ gives things a nice nutty flavor.
It’s better for you than plain old bread crumbs.
It’s tasteier and it’s got more vitamins.
Now, one of the things that traditionally goes with curry is mango chutney.
Love! Major Grey’s Mango Chutney.
But, some people are allergic to mango.
Did you know that mangoes are related to poison ivy?
So, yeah, we don’t want to stay away from mangoes.
Guess what makes a great substitute for that?
Apricot preserves.
You can find the recipe for the apricot chutney on the website.
But, we’re going to be using some of that.
Some of those ingredients, rather, for this particular dish.
So, you see the apricot preserves, raisins.
We have dried jalapeno, freeze-dried cilantro, and curry powder.
Now, we’re using Penzey’s Now Curry.
It’s really, really excellent curry.
If you have a curry that you prefer, please feel free to do so.
So, what we do is, we mix everything
together in a bowl. Just mix it all together.
And then, you form patties.
I really, highly recommend using a burger former,
because then your patties will be uniform in size.
If you’re uniform in size, that means that they
cook all the same time, all the same level.
And they’re wonderful, you know, and have any hotspots or anything nasty, like that.
Then, if you want to, which is a really good idea to get that curry a time to
really flavor the meat, and have some time to sit and marinate.
What I like to do is I like to take those patties and flash freeze them.
And then, after they’re frozen, I put them in a vacuum sealable bag.
And I vacuum seal them.
And you can see, I put the name of whatever it is.
I put the date that I froze it, and I put how much it weighed.
And it’s very simple.
Once they’re frozen, when you want to use them, you take
them out of the freezer and defrost them and cook them.
And you can see, we’re cooking these right here in a cast iron pan, very simple.
And then, they are after they’ve been flipped.
Now, remember, it’s important, because these are chicken, that they have
to be cooked to temperature.
It’s important that it gets up to 165 per night, or 73 degrees Celsius.
Now, we served our chicken curry burgers with Naan.
Naan is a traditional bread that is served with Indian dishes.
So, these went very well.
You just, it’s very, Nana is real similar in a way to pita.
So, you can just stick to whatever it is inside.
In this case, we had our burgers with some apricot chutney.
And we also had some cucumbers with yogurt and mint, which is very traditional.
And you can put that inside of the naan and eat it that way.
And we also served it, we served it with some Curried Bulgar.
And you can get the recipe for that too.
Thank you for joining me at the good plate.
See you next time.
And remember, ever forward, ever flavorful. Yum, yum!
