Peri Peri Style Chicken Burger

Everyone’s always known who Christiano Ronaldo is, but not much else about the country of Portugal has been prevalent in American pop-culture until recently. Portugal has become a hotbed of ex-pats and digital nomads of late. Targeting the latter group especially, the government of Portugal recently relaxed and marketed its updated visa standards. It makes sense. It’s a strikingly beautiful country with a wonderful culture. And it also happens to be one of the cheapest places to live in the world. Natural beauty, vibrant culture, and cheap? That’s pretty compelling.

Still, Portuguese culture – particularly its cuisine – is overshadowed by much of its European counterparts within much of America. Solely Portuguese establishments are few and far between, certainly not on the level of “British pubs” or “Spanish tapas restaurants”. Nando’s is a relative newcomer. It became popular across the pond long before it took root in the states.

While open to some debate, it’s believed that peri peri originated in Southern Africa and was brought there by Portuguese colonists. The term “peri peri” derives from the Swahilian word for pepper, “pilipili”. African Bird’s Eye Chili Peppers are most commonly used in traditional leaning peri peri recipes, and they are hot. Very hot. For reference, an African Bird’s Eye Chili Pepper is anywhere from 10-20 times hotter than a jalapeno. If you’re a fan of spicy food, African Bird’s Eye Chili Peppers are worth a try, but for my wife’s sake, I chose to use dried chipotle peppers in my peri peri style sauce.

More traditional peri peri recipes often call for chicken thighs to be marinated in peri peri sauce and grilled. I instead used ground chicken, choosing to make burger patties that could be pan fried. Combined with breadcrumbs and flavors like garlic, paprika, and green onion, the chicken burger patties served as the perfect platform to display the peri peri style sauce, which is really the star of this dish. The chicken burger patty serves mostly as the vehicle.

Not only would I suggest it, but I’d recommend using the peri peri style sauce in other ways. Make a more traditional peri peri dish and use it as a marinade. Dip french fries in it. Use it on pork. Taste it, and see where it takes you. But most importantly, if you’re making my Peri Peri Style Chicken Burgers per the recipe below, enjoy it!

Peri Peri Style Chicken Burger

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: MainsCuisine: Portuguese, AfricanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

Pan fried ground chicken burgers topped with a homemade piri piri style sauce perfectly encapsulates this popular Portuguese dish

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground chicken

• 4 dried chipotle peppers, rehydrated

• 1 head of garlic

• 1 red bell pepper

• 1 yellow onion

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

• 1 1/2 tablespoon salt

• 1 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1 cup breadcrumbs

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

• 1 whole lemon, juiced

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

• 1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

• 4 tablespoons paprika

• 1/4 cup chopped green onion, fresh or dried

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 cup frying oil

• 4 hamburger buns

• 4 slices green leaf lettuce

• 4 slices sliced tomato

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425°.
• To rehydrate the dried peppers: Remove the seeds and stems from the dried peppers. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the seeded and stemless peppers, cover the pot, remove it from the heat, and let sit for 15 minutes.
  
  You don’t have to use dried peppers. You can roast peppers along with the onion, red bell pepper, and garlic in step 4 as a substitute.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon pepper, garlic powder, green onion, and 1 tablespoon of paprika. Mix until thoroughly combined. Form into equal sized patties and set aside in the refrigerator.
• Peel the yellow onion and remove the seeds and stem from the red bell pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Cut the head off of the garlic, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Roast the garlic, pepper, and onion in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
  
  If you aren’t using dried peppers, roast fresh peppers during this step. Add 3-4 hot peppers of your choice.
• Once cool enough to handle, add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic to a blender or food processor. Add the following ingredients to create the peri peri style sauce: chipotle peppers (and 1 tablespoon of the water used to rehydrate them), extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, 3 tablespoons paprika, lemon juice, cilantro, and basil. Blend well until thoroughly combined. You can’t really over do it, so keep blending if you aren’t sure.
• Add 1 cup of frying oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the ground chicken patties. Flatten with a spatula and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. The outside should be golden and crispy.

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• To assemble the burgers, add 1 patty and a dollop of piri piri sauce to a hamburger bun with green leaf lettuce and a couple of slices of tomato.