Chicken Schnitzel Burgers

Ingredients:

1 lb ground chicken breast
1  1/2 tablespoons lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons nonpareil capers
3/4 cup breadcrumbs

to serve:
pretzel rolls
sliced red onion
hamburger dill pickle chips
sliced tomato
mayo + mustard (I used this German mustard)


Directions:

Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl or plate. Set aside.
Mix together the chicken, lemon pepper, zest, paprika and capers together in a medium bowl until all ingredients are evenly divided. Divide into 4 patties.

Dredge the patties in the breadcrumbs. Panfry, turning once, until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel-lined plates Serve immediately on pretzel rolls with toppings of your choice.

My thoughts:

This burger was the idea of my husband who wondered if we breaded chicken burgers, would it taste like chicken schnitzel. Since we had ground chicken on hand, I thought I'd give it a try. Chicken schnitzel is often served with lemon slices and even a lemon-caper sauce so I thought I'd add those flavors directly into the burger. Ground chicken is pretty bland so it really takes well to the addition of virtually any flavor. Lemon pepper is a great shortcut because not only it has lemon and pepper (obvi) but it also has salt, granulated onion, and garlic powder in it eliminating the need for a lot of spices. I added some zest to give it a fresher taste but in a pinch, you could leave it out. I love capers so of course, I loved them in this too.

I don't know if the breadcrumbs really gave it too much schnitzel flare but it really helped the burgers brown evenly and hold their shape. Ground chicken is much "wetter" than ground beef or pork so it has a tendency to be a little trickier to mold and to flip in the pan but these stayed perfectly formed. I'm definitely trying this trick again.

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