Chicken Bacon Apple Burgers
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Dinner tonight is Chicken Bacon Apple Burgers! These savory burgers are such a fun twist! A little bit smokey, a little bit savory, and a little bit sweet, they’re a family favorite for sure!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KitchenAid. All opinions and text are mine.
I cannot tell you how happy I am that Septemeber is here. Besides the fact that my birthday is this month (woot!), it means fall is around the corner. Mostly proverbially, since it will continue to be hot as blazes until Halloween.
But we’ll focus on those silver linings, yes?
The last of the summer berries and peaches seem to have disappeared from our markets, and it’s been apples apples apples for the last few weeks. I’m okay with that, because it means that apple goodness (I’m looking at you Cider Caramel Apple Crisp) is coming my way.
Apples have also been on my mind as I’ve been working on an entry for the KitchenAid Apple Challenge contest. The contest features all things apple. You enter an apple recipe (no apple pies, please!) along with a photo and post the picture on Twitter or Instagram with #KitchenAidContest. The winner, among awesome prizes like cooking your recipe for Chef Michael Zakarian (Iron Chef and Chopped forever!) and having your recipe printed in Food Network Magazine, gets a set of KitchenAid’s new bold black stainless kitchen appliances. They look super sleek and with a home purchase in our future sometime in the next few months, I’ll admit my eyes got a little starry looking at them.
I wanted to challenge myself to use apple in a savory rather than dessert, recipe. I hemmed and hawed and made a LOT of yummy apple recipes over the last few weeks, but in the end, this Chicken Bacon Apple burger is the best of the bunch.
The ground chicken breast keeps things feeling light, the rich smokiness of the bacon, sweetness of the caramelized onion, and the fresh taste of the apple made these INCREDIBLE. It was a bit of a fight over who got to finish the leftovers. (spoiler: I won)
You can top these with anything–classic tomato, lettuce, and onion burger toppings, a little apple chutney, chipotle mayo, or a fresh apple and cabbage slaw are all awesome. I prefer mine protein style (lettuce wrapped)! Whether I make it to Chef Zakarian or not, I do think these burgers are a big win. Aaaaand I’m making more. Immediately.
What would you enter? Savory? Sweet?
Don’t forget to enter and GOOD LUCK!
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Chicken Bacon Apple Burger
- Yield: 5–6 burgers 1x
Description
A gorgeous combination of flavors makes these burgers an instant family favorite. You might want to make a double batch!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground chicken breast (see note)
- 4oz uncooked bacon, diced
- 1 cup finely diced red onion
- 1 Granny Smith (or other favorite) apple, cored and finely diced
- 3–4 Tbsp fresh sage (or 3–4 tsp. dried)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2–3 Tbsp of your favorite cooking fat (I love bacon fat here, but olive oil or avocado oil are great choices)
Instructions
- In a medium saute pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until onion is starting to caramelize. Add diced apple and cook an additional 2-3 minutes to slightly soften the apple.
- Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse bacon to grind. Add chicken and pulse to combine. Add caramelized onions and apples, sage, salt, and pepper. Pulse to combine.
- Form 5-6 patties with your hands, slightly pressing down on the centers with your thumb. (Burgers plump up in the middle as they cook, so pressing the centers down helps them to cook more evenly).
- Heat 2 Tbsp of your favorite cooking fat to a pan (I prefer cast iron) and heat over medium-high heat. Add burgers a few at a time (don’t overcrowd the pan!) and cook 5-6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook an additional 2-4 minutes or till cooked through.
- Serve with desired toppings!
- Some suggestions:
- Classic burger toppings–tomato, lettuce, onion, etc.
- Apple chutney
- Chipotle mayo
- Apple cabbage slaw
Notes
*I usually grind my own chicken breast in my food processor fitted with a metal blade. I pulse until it’s finely ground, making sure there aren’t any large pieces left.
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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KitchenAid. The opinions and text are all mine.
