Nashville Hot Chicken Burgers

These Nashville hot chicken burgers are one million percent legit! Since developing this recipe I’ve eaten them countless times; I literally can’t get enough.

This burger is easier to make than the traditional Nashville hot chicken sandwich. There’s no mess from deep frying, and no dutch oven full of used oil to discard.

Using this simple homemade Nashville hot seasoning, the burger packs all the flavor you’d expect from the authentic fried chicken sandwich, with half the work.

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How To Make Chicken Burgers Juicy

Here’s the deal: ground chicken is very lean and needs to be cooked to a relatively high internal temperature in order to make it safe. The result is oftentimes a very dry burger.

So how do I get the Nashville hot chicken burgers to stay so juicy? Butter of course! You have to add fat to the ground chicken to keep it juicy. I do that using butter.

Not only does the butter keep the burgers juicy, it adds an element of flavor that’s soooooo good!

What Temperature Should Chicken Burgers Be?

Unlike ground beef that is often eaten medium rare, ground chicken needs to be fully cooked. Cook these Nashville hot chicken burgers to an internal temperature to 165°F.

Don’t guess on this, do yourself a favor and use a reliable quick read thermometer to check the internal temperature of the patties before serving.

What Makes These “Nashville Hot” Chicken Burgers?

The answer is two fold. First, it’s this seasoning. It’s a simple homemade blend made from things you probably have in your pantry.

Second, it’s the sauce baby! Using the drippings from the chicken burgers, combined with some more of the seasoning, and a few other ingredients takes these burgers from a 10/10 to a 12/10.

Tap Images Below For Other Burgers You’ll Love

Tips For Making Nashville Hot Chicken Burgers

Butter: You can certainly cube up cold butter and mix it into the ground chicken, but I recommend freezing a stick of butter and grating it with a box grater. It mixes into the ground chicken much better that way.
Patties: Make them thick. This allows you to get a bit of a crust on the outside of the patty without overcooking the inside.
Buns: I highly recommend using a brioche bun. It’s similar to the white bread you’d be served with the authentic chicken sandwich this recipe was inspired by.

How To Make Nashville Hot Chicken Burgers

Prep Time: 10 mins. | Cook Time: 14 mins. | Serves: 4

Ingredients

Burgers
2 lbs ground chicken
1 stick butter, frozen
1/4 cup Nashville hot seasoning
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 brioche buns
1 cup dill pickle chips

For the drizzle
3 tbsp hot sauce
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp Nashville Hot Seasoning
2 tbsp brown sugar

Step 1: Using a box grater, finely grate one stick of frozen butter.

Step 2: Combine grated butter with ground chicken and three tablespoons of Nashville hot seasoning, and mix by hand.

Step 3: Form the ground chicken into four equal size patties, about 1″ thick. Then, evenly season the outside of the patties with one tablespoon of Nashville hot seasoning.

Step 4: Add the oil to a large cast iron or similar style skillet, and heat to medium high. Add burgers, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Depending on the size of the pan you may have to cook them in batches.

Step 5: Cook burgers for about six minutes per side. When they reach 160°F internal as indicated by a reliable quick read thermometer, remove from the pan and set aside. Carryover cooking will bring them to 165°F. Reduce heat to low.

Step 6: To the pan, add the remaining ingredients for the drizzle. Whisk until butter has melted and all ingredients have combined.

Step 7: Place pickles on bottom buns, top with a burger patty and drizzle with sauce from the pan. Serve hot.