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 airtight 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 byproduct 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.
- Hob/stovetop.
- Griddle pan or grill pan in the US.
- Mini blender.
- A 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
Ingredients
- 2 Small Chicken Breasts
- 2 Burger Buns
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Spray Oil (For cooking the Chciken)
For the Marinade:
- 1 Scotch Bonnet chilli pepper
- 2 Spring Onions
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 35 g Ginger 1 Thumb Sized Piece
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Grated Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Ground Allspice
- 1 teaspoon Thyme Leaves
- 1 tablespoon Black Treacle or Molasses
- 1 tablespoon Malt Vinegar
For the Mango Salsa:
- 1 Small Mango
- 1 Red Pepper
- 1 Spring Onion
- 1 tablespoon Lime Juice
- 1 Orange (Zest only)
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- Salt to taste
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 them 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 (around ½") 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 in the griddle pan and sear.
- Build your burger and tuck in.