These Curry Chicken Burgers are an easy, 20 minute twist on a classic! They’re topped with a sweet and tangy tropical relish that transports you to the Caribbean. It’s perfect family dinner for kids and adults alike.
Being a first gen American in my Jamaican immigrant family, I think I’m legally required to love 2 staple foods from both cultures: CURRY CHICKEN and BURGERS. So I thought to myself, why not make a multi-cultural mashup of the two?
The curry chicken burger was born and I promise, there’s no turning back! These burgers are the perfect weeknight comfort food.
Jamaican curry dishes are usually stewed for hours, so the curry flavor always invokes a feeling of childhood joy for me. And I think it’s safe to say that burgers are America’s favorite comfort food.
How to make curry chicken burgers
It’s sort of funny because I didn’t eat my first burger until I was a teenager. When I was a kid my mom only knew how to cook Jamaican food, Italian stuffed shells and hamburger helper (not actual hamburgers).
I’ve still never eaten a Big Mac or Whopper or the typical childhood burgers most American kids grew up on. At Mickey D’s, I was all about the hash browns. At family barbecues, it was charred hot dogs all the way. I was definitely late on the burger train but now I love a good, juicy flat top burger (flat top forms the best meaty crust!).
Here’s how you make these burgers:
- Mix the ground chicken with all the spices and veggies
- Wet your hands with water
- Form the burgers into equal sized patties
- Pan sear your burgers
- Load them in the buns and ENJOY!
Seasoning with Jamaican curry powder
Jamaican curry dishes are usually referred to as “curried”, so curry is used as a verb i.e. curried shrimp or curried goat.
For chicken, I’ve seen it written as curried chicken or curry chicken; but curry is still written first. “Curry-ing” in Jamaican food is the process of infusing the flavor of curry into a dish.
Most other countries with curry dishes would say chicken curry or shrimp curry because curry describes the sauce rather than cooking process.
You’ll notice that the burger is slider size. I always make sliders as a way to trick my brain into thinking I’m eating a ton of burgers. You can of course make the burger patties any size you like : )
I usually serve these babies with sweet potato fries and curry ketchup or curry mayo (it’s actually Greek yogurt, our secret).
Dipping Sauce for fries
Curry ketchup or curry mayo go great with a side of sweet potato fries!
- For curry ketchup just add a teaspoon of Jamaican curry powder to 1/4 cup of ketchup. Stir and let the dip sit for about 20 minutes so the curry can sink in.
- For the curry mayo, follow the steps/measurements for the ketchup but also add a little salt and pepper to taste for a little extra flavor. It’s not necessary for the ketchup since it’s already sweet.
I of course prefer to use Jamaican curry powder. It’s got a nice heat to it without being too spicy.
Some other recipes you can make with this curry powder are:
Curry Chicken Burgers
Rate this Recipe:Ingredients
Burger Patties:
- 16 ounces ground chicken
- 1/8 cup curry powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger powder
- 2 scallions chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup pepper jelly
- 12 slider buns
- 1/2 cup arugula
Tropical Relish:
- 1 red bell pepper cut in cubes
- 2 cups pineapple chunks fresh or canned
- 1 Spanish onion cut in cubes
- 1 tbs olive oil
Instructions
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place red pepper, onion, and pineapple on a lined cookie sheet and toss with olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until tender. Broil on high for 5 minutes until fruits and vegetables are slightly charred. Place roasted fruit and vegetables in a food processor with salt and pepper to taste. Pulse a few times until you have a chunky, tropical relish.
- In a large bowl combine ground chicken, curry powder, ground ginger powder, salt, black pepper, chopped scallions and 1/4 cup tropical relish. Mix meat until all ingredients are evenly combined. Form 12 slider patties with the meat.
- In a medium-high heat skillet cook each burger 2-3 minutes per side. Top each burger with 1/2 tsp pepper jelly, reduce heat to medium low and cover. Cook 1 minute until pepper jelly melts to coat each burger.
- Assemble burgers by topping toasted slider buns with arugula, burgers and relish. Enjoy!
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to see how it turned out! Snap a picture and tag @brightrootskitchen or use #brightrootskitchen on Insta.
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