This jerk chicken burger is a spicy hot treat featuring classic Jamaican seasonings and comes with a light and refreshing mango salsa.
Each element can be prepared separately and they are just as good grilled on the BBQ as they are in a skillet.
Jamaican Influenced Chicken Burger
When it comes to a good burger I like to be creative! As I have said before, a beef burger to me is usually a pretty classic affair, but step aside from beef and all bets are off!
This spicy Jamaican-influenced jerk chicken breast burger is all kinds of delicious.
I love a good spicy burger as previous offerings like my Indian Lamb burger, Thai influenced fish burger, harissa halloumi burger, Korean fried chicken burger and peri peri chicken burger show.
Even my relatively mild buttermilk fried chicken burger comes with a chipotle mayonnaise!
Here allspice, mingled with cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon get a punch of heat from scotch bonnet chillies.
The spices are paired with green onions, garlic and ginger and tempered with treacle and lime juice.
These are the same flavours that appear in my jerk chicken drumsticks and jerk salmon recipes.
Rather than using minced chicken, I use a whole chicken breast, just like my other chicken burger recipe. This means we retain the flavour of chicken rather than it becoming “just a texture”.
The burger is topped with a super simple and refreshing mango salsa to quench that burn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this in advance?
Yes, the marinade can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge in an air tight container.
The burger can be marinated for up to 24 hours.
I would avoid making the salsa in advance though, I would make that a maximum of an hour before serving.
Are these any good on the BBQ?
Oh my yes!
They are even better on the BBQ, the marinade chars in places giving them that real classic Jamaican jerk vibe.
Cook them until the internal temperature reaches 73°C or 165°F.
What is “treacle”?
A question often asked by my US-based readers…
Treacle, like molasses, is a bi-product of the sugar refining process. There are some technical differences between the two products however flavour wise and utility wise black treacle and molasses are reasonably interchangeable.
However not all treacle is “black treacle”, but there it is so don’t worry, use molasses.
Serving Suggestions
As far as I am concerned burgers need potatoes… It’s the law!
I usually serve mine with potato wedges, primarily because they are simple. You can just chuck them in the oven, give them a shake halfway through and walk away.
I made a little sprinkle for these that included salt, a pinch of allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and a generous sprinkle of pepper.
If fries are more of your thing, then how about some sweet potato fries? The sweetness would match really well with this jerk chicken burger!
Ok, ok already… Yes, you can serve it with a salad too… Although I’m not sure why you would lol!
So yeah salad, this black bean and corn salad would work an absolute treat with this burger.
Equipment Used
I only mention brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Stovetop.
- Griddle pan or grill pan in the US.
- Mini blender.
- Bag or Tupperware tub for marinating the chicken.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife, bread knife and paring knife.
- Kitchen tongs.
- Measuring spoons.
- A quick read meat thermometer, optional but recommended!
Jerk Chicken Burger Recipe
This Jamaican influenced jerk chicken burger rocks all of the classic spicing from great jerked chook, everything from allspice berries to scotch bonnet chillies and that mango salsa provides a perfect balance.
Ingredients
- 2 Small Chicken Breasts
- 2 Burger Buns
- Iceberg Lettuce
For the Marinade:
- 1 Scotch Bonnet chilli pepper
- 2 Spring Onions
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- Ginger Thumb Sized Piece
- 1 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tsp Salt
- ¼ Tsp Grated Nutmeg
- ¼ Tsp Ground Cloves
- ½ Tsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ Tsp Ground Allspice
- 1 Tsp Thyme Leaves
- 1 Tbsp Black Treacle or Molasses
- 1 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
For the Mango Salsa:
- 1 Small Mango
- 1 Red Pepper
- 1 Spring Onion
- 1 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 Orange
- ¼ Tsp Black Pepper
- Salt to taste
- Spray Oil
Instructions
- Remove the stalk from the chilli, and the seeds if you want to reduce the heat and add it to a mini blender.
- Roughly chop the spring onions and add to the chilli.
- Peel the garlic and ginger and throw into the blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients for the marinade into the blender and mix to form a paste.
- Take the chicken breasts and remove the tender (freeze this for later), then sandwich a breast between two sheets of baking parchment and bash with a rolling pin until around 1-1.5cm thick.
- Place the chicken in a bag and add the marinade, massage well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and for a maximum of 24 hours.
- Cut the mango and red pepper into a 5-6mm (¼") dice and place them into a bowl.
- Chop the spring onion into rounds as finely as you can and add to the pepper mango mix.
- Zest the orange and add it to the salsa mix.
- Squeeze over the lime juice and stir to coat, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat a griddle pan over a medium-high heat.
- Spray the chicken breasts with spray oil and cook for 6-7 minutes per side or until the internal temperature reaches 73°C 165°F. Then remove the chicken and cover with foil for a minute or two,
- Cut burger buns and place them cut side down to the griddle pan and sear.
- Build your burger and enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 844Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 152mgSodium: 2776mgCarbohydrates: 96gFiber: 10gSugar: 48gProtein: 64g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.