This Southern Fried Chicken Caesar Burger Is A Taste Sensation

Did someone say fried chicken AND Caesar in the same sentence? Yes — you heard correctly. We’ve decided to combine two much loved recipes to make this lip smackingly delicious burger. Biting through the buttery, sweet brioche to meet the salty Caesar dressing dripping over crispy chicken is nothing more than a masterpiece of a mouthful.

My love of the Caesar dressing has inspired this handsome beast of a burger recipe, as I don’t see why Mr Romaine can’t share the love when it comes to this Heavenly dressing.

Now I hear you saying; I’d love to make this, but I’m scared of deep frying! Never fear, I understand. The key to deep frying is getting the temperature of the oil right, and the best way to do that is with a digital temperature thermometer. As long as you stay with the oil and keep an eye on the temperature, you will be absolutely fine. Alternatively, a deep fat fryer does the work for you. Just don’t leave that hot guy unaccompanied.

The chicken is marinated in yoghurt instead of buttermilk, a little penny pinching cheat. Buttermilk can be hard to come by and a little harsh on the purse strings but the acid in the yoghurt still provides the needed acid to tenderise the meat and carry all the fragrant herbs and spices. If you want to go all out, why not make my homemade Caesar dressing. I promise it will give your burger that extra wow-factor.

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 2 hours

Process Time: 6 mins

Total Time: 2 hours 6 mins

Ingredients

• 500 g

  skinless, boneless chicken thighs

• 400 mL

  plain yoghurt

• 1 1/2 tsp.

  garlic powder

• 1 1/2 tsp.

  ground coriander

• 1 tsp.

  dried oregano

• 1 tsp.

  smoked paprika

Juice of 1 lemon

• 1/2 tsp.

  salt

• 1/2 tsp.

  black pepper

For the flour mixture

• 150 g

  plain flour

• 50 g

  corn flour

• 1 tsp.

  garlic powder

• 1 tsp.

  smoked paprika

• 2 tsp.

  ground coriander

• 1 tsp.

  salt

• 1 tsp.

  black pepper

• 4 tbsp.

  Caesar salad dressing

• 1 L

  vegetable oil, for frying

• 4

  brioche buns, halved and toasted

Romaine lettuce, finely sliced

• 1

  red onion, finely sliced

tomatoes, sliced

• 10 g

  parmesan, grated

Directions

1. In a large bowl, add the yoghurt, garlic powder, ground coriander, dried oregano, smoked paprika, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Stir until fully combined then add the chicken. Using tongs, mix the chicken into the mixture, making sure to to open the fillets out so the marinade covers the chicken. Cover and place into the fridge for two hours, ideally overnight.
2. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan). Fill a deep saucepan three quarters full of oil. Place over a medium heat and slowly bring up to 170ºC.
3. While the oil is heating, in a shallow dish combine all the flour mixture ingredients and mix until fully combined. Using tongs, remove the chicken fillets one by one and coat well with the flour mix. Make sure to open out the thighs to get the seasoning into all the nooks and crannies. Place onto a wire rack.
4. Once your oil is up to temperature, fry the chicken in batches of three and cook for six minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 70ºC. Add to a wire rack and place in the oven to keep warm whilst you fry all of the chicken.
5. Once you’re ready to assemble, spread a tablespoon of Caesar dressing to the base of your brioche bun and top with two chicken thigh fillets. Finish with red onion, tomato, caesar dressed romaine and parmesan. Serve and enjoy!

fried chicken caesar burger